


Sexual Expression

by Dazzlious



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-13
Updated: 2017-01-13
Packaged: 2018-09-17 04:19:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 28,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9303851
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dazzlious/pseuds/Dazzlious
Summary: Hermione decides to take a class to understand her body’s response to stimulation.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from JK Rowling’s fantastic books or films, I’m just borrowing and playing with them for a little while and get no monetary reward for doing so. 
> 
> A/N: This story, which is set after the Deathly Hallows is obviously completely AU. I know there aren’t actually any classes out there like the one described in the story, although maybe there should be. Anyway, of course, this is just a plot device to get Draco and Hermione naked at the same time, even if not necessarily exactly together. Sorry, the little porn bunny in my brain working overtime once again. Dx

Hermione sighed as she looked at the card pasted on the door of the classroom she was about to enter.

 

**SEXUAL EXPRESSION 101**

**A guide to understanding your body’s responses to stimulation**

 

She still wasn’t entirely sure why she had signed up for the class, which she had found out about when a flyer for it had appeared under her door one morning, except that she was fed up with being involved in relationships that went nowhere and usually went that way pretty fast. She knew she had no confidence sexually and was hoping the class might serve to at least make her more assured of her abilities in bed, if nothing else. After all, if she knew more about her body and how it reacted in intimate situations perhaps it might make her better with someone else’s, and by extension, it might, if she was lucky, enhance her chance of keeping a boyfriend longer than a few short weeks.

Hermione hadn’t told her best friends she had signed up for the class. She could already imagine Harry and Ron’s sniggering response, although both of them would no doubt agree she needed the course. Her big love affair with Ron, which had taken so many years to get off the ground, had lasted a mere three months before they had decided they weren’t suited; and Harry had been little more than a badly judged one-night stand. And since coming to university she hadn’t been any more successful. Although she had seen a fair number of men over the year she had been there, none of them had ever amounted to anything she could even vaguely call serious. 

She clutched at the door handle for a moment, willing herself to enter, then turned it and opened the door. The large room contained a number of beanbag seats on which several people were already lounging, some chatting quite happily to each other, others looking as uncomfortable about being there as she was. Hermione sidled into the room and made her way to a beanbag towards the back, with a good view of the rest of the class. She looked around at her fellow students, pleased to see there was a wide spectrum of the student body represented. She wasn’t the only female and neither were all the men what she would consider to be creeps. In fact, she was surprised that some of them felt the need to be there at all.

As the hands of the clock turned slowly towards eight o’clock the room filled steadily until almost all the beanbags were occupied. As the clock chimed the hour, the door opened and a mature yet good-looking woman dressed casually in a long robe of magenta entered the room. Hermione instantly became more alert as the woman moved towards the centre of the semi-circle of beanbags.

‘Good evening, everyone. My name is Professor Sharkey or Lyn as I prefer to be known.’ Lyn gave the class a brilliant smile as she gazed around the room at the assembled students. ‘It’s good to see so many people here. I just hope the class won’t be too boring for you.’

Hermione noticed that she looked in particular at a group of three good-looking lads who were busy whispering to each other.

‘As you would expect there is a lot of sexual content in this course,’ Lyn continued as the lads realised they had been caught out. ‘However, the intention is to improve your understanding of the desires that drive _your_ body, thus giving you greater pleasure with any potential partners, and there will be a considerable amount of theoretical study, so anyone looking for a quick thrill or who is not serious about joining in with the class should leave now.’  She looked at the three lads once more. They reddened slightly but didn’t move.

‘I should warn you now that most of you won’t make it to the end of the course. For some of you, the course will simply not provide what you need, for some, it will lack the spectacle you are expecting, and for some others of you, it will simply be too hard.’

Hermione was sure Lyn’s gaze had fallen on her as she made that final point.

‘However, for those of you who are serious about learning, I can assure you of an interesting and stimulating course which will test your perceptions and provide you with skills that will help you in many aspects of your life.’

Lyn stopped talking for a moment and looked around at the class once more, seemingly gauging each of the students.

‘This evening we shall start slowly, with a discussion about desire and possible body responses. There will be no practical work this evening, only theory and conjecture.’

Hermione noted that the three lads looked disappointed at this comment and wondered what exactly she had got herself involved in. What practical work would they be expected to do? But before she could think on it further Lyn began talking once more, and Hermione focussed all her attention on the teacher, as she always did in classes.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘Well, that was certainly interesting, wasn’t it, Granger?’

Hermione jumped at the low, drawling voice in her ear. She turned to see Draco Malfoy smirking at her over her shoulder. She groaned. Although she knew he was a member of the university she had been lucky enough not to get put in any of his classes, and she rarely saw him around the campus as they moved in completely different circles.

‘What are you doing here, Malfoy?’ she asked, her voice cold and dismissive. The words slipped out before she had a chance to engage her brain, otherwise, she would have just ignored him. She hadn’t seen him anywhere in the class or she might have left before it had even started.

Draco’s smirk widened. ‘I could ask you the same thing,’ he said laughingly. ‘Although to be honest, Granger, your exploits — or should I say non-exploits — are legendary.’

Hermione could feel her face flushing at his comment. She had to remain calm and not let him wind her up like he always seemed to manage to do so effortlessly.

‘Yes, it was most informative,’ she said primly, ignoring his taunt. ‘It will be interesting to see who turns up to next week’s class.’

She felt sure the three lads wouldn’t. She wasn’t sure what they had been expecting, but the frank and interesting discussion obviously hadn’t been it.

‘Oh yes, practical time next week,’ Draco replied slyly. ‘It’ll be more interesting to see who remains in class the week _after_ that.’

Hermione gave a small frown. She still wasn’t entirely sure what this practical element would contain. After all, the course was about learning about their body’s responses to stimulation, and Professor Sharkey had explained that whilst that meant stimulation of every type, their course would be focussing purely on the sexual side of things. But they were hardly going to be having sex in class, were they? Or . . .  _were they_? Her heart sank. It was bad enough that for homework they had to keep a diary throughout the week of their responses to stimulation in all situations.

Draco was looking at her with interest, the smirk still firmly on his face. ‘Are you going to enjoy writing about masturbating, Granger?’ he asked snidely. ‘Perhaps writing about it will get you off.’

Hermione felt herself blush again and her anger with Malfoy rose. ‘Well, you’re the wanker, Malfoy,’ she retorted, ‘so you should have plenty to report on.’  With that, she stormed off down the corridor, determined to get away from the annoying git.

‘At least I regularly have sex with other people, Granger,’ Draco shouted loudly after her. ‘I don’t scare everyone away and end up all alone, having no choice but to masturbate. If I wank, it’s because I choose to do so.’

Hermione gave a snort of annoyance and sped up, trying to ignore the looks from the people in the corridor who had heard Malfoy’s comments. She had let the bastard get to her again and as usual, she had come out of it the loser. He had embarrassed and upset her and worse still, he was actually telling the truth. She _had_ scared all her boyfriends away, and she had absolutely no idea why.

Her last boyfriend, Stephen, who she had met in the Library, was a desperately dull man and an excellent chess player, or so Harry and Ron had respectively told her, at least. Stephen had dumped her after only a few weeks, but the only reason she could get out of him was that he was too busy with work to commit to a relationship. That had been fine until she had seen him walking hand in hand with another girl across the quad the following week. Hermione had no idea what she was doing wrong, but the fact was that unlike Malfoy if she wanted sexual fulfilment she really didn’t have any choice but to masturbate.

If she was to take the class next week, she either had to write about her experience or abstain so she would have nothing to report on. Hermione wasn’t sure which route was the most depressing.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione had begun the week by not masturbating. She decided she didn’t want to report on it, assuming she would even go back to the class. She wasn’t sure she wanted to continue if Malfoy was going to be there too, although it annoyed her to think she would bow to pressure from him and give up. But as the week went on, frustration caused her to take refuge in self-pleasure.

It had always been a stress release for her, something to take her mind off the strains of life at school and university, and abstaining was having a deleterious effect on her mental well-being. As stupid as it seemed, everything really did seem better after she made herself come. Not doing it made her twitchy and bad-tempered. Recording that in her diary made the need for it obvious, and short of ambushing someone for a one-off quickie, something that was definitely not in her nature, there was nothing she could do but resume the diddling.

By the time the next lesson came round she had made up her mind that she wouldn’t drop the class, regardless of how much provocation she received from Malfoy. She wasn’t going to let him goad her into running away. That type of behaviour had ended when they had left school. However distasteful it was to have Malfoy in the class with her, she was determined to see it through to the end. All she had to do was keep as far away from him as possible and try to forget he was even in the room.

Unfortunately, this was much easier said than done. Malfoy wasn’t there when she arrived for the second session and for a moment she hoped that meant he had decided against torturing her and had dropped the class, as the three lads and half a dozen others appeared to have done although in her heart of hearts Hermione knew she couldn’t really be that lucky. Sure enough, moments before Lyn arrived, Malfoy entered the room with that annoying smirk writ large upon his face and swaggered over to sit down right next to Hermione. She was disconcerted by this turn of events but was unable to move as Lyn had followed him through the door and was already addressing the class.

‘Good evening, everyone. Nice to see I didn’t scare you all away,’ Lyn said with a smile and a laugh. ‘Did you all keep your diaries this week?’ There was a murmur of assent from the class.  ‘How many of you didn’t have sexual activity of any description at all this week?’ Lyn asked without a trace of embarrassment. ‘Put your hands up.’

Hermione was surprised to see a good few hands go up. From the corner of her eye, she saw Malfoy look at her, his eyebrow raised in amusement.

‘You didn’t want to write about your masturbating in the diary?’ Lyn asked knowingly. Most of the students with their hands raised looked embarrassed. ‘There’s nothing wrong with masturbation,’ Lyn told the class. ‘It’s pleasurable and it’s a great stress-reliever. It’s also a highly erotic form of foreplay — but more on that later.’

She walked around the semi-circle looking at the students.  ‘So — those of you who didn’t masturbate this week — how do you feel?’  She pointed at a mousy-haired woman who blushed and answered too quietly for Hermione to hear the response.

‘Was the frustration so bad for you, Granger,’ Draco whispered to her, ‘that you couldn’t keep your hands off your pussy?’

Hermione willed herself not to blush and ignored his comment, trying to focus instead on what Lyn was saying. She was now questioning a man with dark hair.

‘Yes, that’s right,’ Lyn agreed in response to something the man said. Hermione had missed his comment because of Malfoy’s distraction. ‘Without sexual relief, tension does build up and tempers can fray. Really, people, remember we’re here to learn more about your bodies and their response to stimulation. Withholding self-pleasure from yourself won’t aid in that at all.’

She looked around at the class. ‘This is why we introduce the practical element _within_ the classroom setting. It gives you a chance to learn to feel more comfortable about your bodies. It will progress as the year continues, but for the first few weeks it will be based on self-pleasure — masturbation or wanking — whichever term you prefer.’

She looked at the sea of faces which seemed to be divided between those who were eager and those who were shocked or horrified. Hermione knew she definitely fit into the latter group, whilst Malfoy, whose smile had become almost predatory, certainly fitted into the former. He looked at Hermione and shook his head, laughing at her expression. Hermione was shocked as she realised Lyn was implying that they would be masturbating as part of the practical. Surely they wouldn’t be doing it here in front of everyone else, though, would they? She heard Malfoy laughing next to her and turned to see his amused face. Of course, he was up for it. The pervert probably only joined because he knew they would be doing things like this.

 _Like those three guys last week_ , she thought. No wonder they had been disappointed when the whole lesson had been nothing but talk.

She turned her attention back to Lyn, who was trying to reassure the class that there was nothing wrong with what she was proposing and that if they were all wearing comfortable clothing as the course spec had recommended they wouldn’t even need to get undressed to achieve their orgasm. Hermione was casually dressed and was suddenly very glad she had worn yoga pants. At least she could stick her hand down there without having to flash anything, unlike some of the other women who had worn skirts.

‘If anyone wishes to leave the class now, please feel free to do so,’ Lyn said, and she nodded understandingly as a few people rose and moved towards the door.

Draco caught Hermione’s eye and looked at her mockingly as if daring her to get up and leave. Of course, that made her more determined to stay, regardless of her unease at what they had to do. She gave him an enigmatic smile and turned away to focus once more on Lyn.

‘Now, this isn’t a race, nor are we interested in style or technique,’ Lyn said. ‘The whole idea of this exercise is for you to begin to learn about your body and how it reacts to the stimulation you give it. We will look at the various different methods of stimulation over the coming weeks, but for now, you should just concentrate on giving yourself an orgasm. Don’t worry about those around you, and don’t worry about being watched. Everyone will be far too interested in their own pleasure to worry about what you’re doing.’

With a wave of her wand, she dimmed the lights, changing the colour of them so the room was lit with a warm, sensual glow. Then with a sweep she removed her robe, standing impressively naked in front of the class.

‘I would never ask you to do something I wasn’t prepared to do myself,’ Lyn said with a smile, and she grabbed a spare beanbag and sat down with her legs apart. ‘Begin as you wish.’ With that her hands moved, one straying to her large, ripe breasts, the other sliding between her legs. ‘I’d make a start if you don’t want to be watched by those who finish early,’ she warned the class amusedly when she saw they were mainly watching her rather than engaging in their own enjoyment. 

Hermione hurriedly glanced around and realised that those nearest her were already touching themselves. If she didn’t do something quickly she would end up being the centre of attention, and she definitely didn’t want that. She lay back, using the beanbag to support her head and shoulders, and closing her eyes she slid her hand beneath the waistband of her trousers and into her knickers.

The heat was astonishing, as was the realisation that she was aroused, very aroused. The illicit feel of what she was doing was obviously a trigger for her. Her other hand brushed over her thin cotton top, feeling her erect nipples poking through the material. Her tongue darted out to lick her lips as her fingers slid down through the hair of her mound and between the lips of her labia to rub at her clit. She bit her lip, stifling a moan, but as she retreated from the rest of the room into her own little world of pleasure she couldn’t help but whimper, small mewls of desire and joy that ended with a longer, deeper moan of satisfaction as she came.

Suddenly back in the room, Hermione could hear the sounds of the rest of the class in various stages of arousal. She removed her hand from her knickers and turned her head. Malfoy lay there facing her, looking completely relaxed with his hand around his large erection, stroking it gently. She was unable to gauge the look on his face. He had obviously been watching her, and seeing that she was now watching him he smiled wickedly and increased his stroke, his tongue running over his lips in imitation of Hermione’s earlier, but far more wantonly.

Hermione had intended to turn away but found herself fascinated by the act. She had never seen a man do this before and her intelligent mind took over, analysing what she was watching. Malfoy’s eyes were closed now as his speed increased until Hermione thought he must be hurting himself, but then he opened his eyes, gazed directly at her, and with a loud grunt of pleasure he ejaculated, the fluid squirting across the floor between them. He gave another wicked grin and lazily retrieved his wand, performing a cleaning charm and tucking himself away before laying back with his arms behind his head and his eyes closed, a look of pure, smug satisfaction on his face.

After a few more minutes Lyn, who had once more dressed in her voluminous robe, brought the lights up. The whole class was far more relaxed now and there were many smiling faces.

‘Well, I think we all enjoyed that,’ Lyn said as she looked around the group. ‘Next week we’ll take a look at the erogenous zones and how they can aid us in self-pleasure. Don’t forget to keep your diaries up to date — and I expect there to be no more abstaining.’  There was a round of laughter from many of the class at this as people gathered their belongings and prepared to leave the room.

Hermione couldn’t decide whether to make a swift exit in the hope of getting away before Malfoy said something to her or to hang back and hope he got bored waiting for her. Deciding on the first option, she jumped up quickly, grabbed her bag and headed for the door. Unfortunately, Malfoy was right behind her, almost as if he had been waiting for her to move.    

‘Did you enjoy watching me, Granger?’ Draco asked, his voice soft and sensual in her ear as they exited the room. ‘I certainly enjoyed watching you although without the clothes would have been better.’ He gave his usual smirk as Hermione blushed crimson. ‘Very interesting technique. Incredibly erotic,’ he continued, ‘and those delicious little noises you make when you come . . . mmmm . . . very cute indeed.’

Hermione tried to walk away, not wanting to listen, but Draco grabbed her shoulder and leant on her, pressing his body against her as he talked. ‘Do you make noises like that during intercourse?’ he asked, his voice gravelly. ‘I think that would be enough to make me come on the spot.’ His hand reached out to gently stroke her cheek. ‘Should we find out?’ He smiled lasciviously. 

‘Stop it,’ Hermione said, shaking him off her. She realised she was shaking and wasn’t quite sure why.  Draco let her go, but the smile stayed firmly in place.

‘No matter. We’ll get to it soon enough,’ he told her. ‘Assuming you don’t chicken out of finishing the course.’

Hermione knew Malfoy was goading her but she couldn’t keep her mouth shut. If there was one thing she couldn’t back down from where he was concerned it was a dare, however stupid it might be to continue.

‘Oh, don’t worry about me, Malfoy, I’ll be there. Question is, will you?’

‘Every step of the way, Granger,’ Draco assured her darkly.

‘Fine,’ Hermione said dismissively, and she walked off down the corridor, leaving Draco watching her.

‘I’ll see you next week,’ Draco called out to her. ‘Unless you want to come find me for more research on those noises,’ he added laughingly.

Hermione ignored him and once again stormed back to her room, her cheeks crimson with embarrassment.


	2. Chapter 2

The following week’s lesson turned into a class-long discussion on erogenous zones with the remaining members of the once more diminished group. Hermione was sure that those who had abstained the week before were the ones who hadn’t come back — certainly the two students Lyn had questioned weren’t there, although they would have been safe this week since there was no time for a practical.

The class began with an in-depth consideration of the erogenous zones on a man, something Hermione had found incredibly interesting. Although she had been aware of the obvious, like the penis and perineum, she had been less aware of areas like the scalp, the back of the knee, and the inside of the elbow. Although she wasn’t sure when she would get the chance to try the techniques she had been taught she filed the information away for possible later use.

The talk then turned to the female erogenous zones and once again Hermione learnt something new. For starters, she now understood why Malfoy whispering so seductively in her ear had left her shaking. He was obviously well aware of the effect he had caused. In fact, she turned to glance at him in his now usual place next to her, and he smiled wickedly, his eyebrow rising knowingly. With the many more erogenous zones on a woman to cover the time soon went and as they packed away their things, Lyn informed them that the following week would be a reminder on erogenous zones followed by a practical on the subject.

Hermione waited tensely for Malfoy to accost her and make some crass remark, but it seemed this week he had nothing to say, staying seated when she walked towards the door. She exited the room hurriedly and headed down the corridor before he had a chance to change his mind.

 

 

* * *

 

 

And so on to the following week, when the group seemed smaller still. Hermione did a quick head count and realised the numbers were evening up; there were a nearly equal number of male and female students now. She wondered whether Lyn was purposely causing this with her carefully directed comments. Did it mean that in the future they would be pairing up? At the realisation of this possibility, Hermione began looking at the remaining males in the room to decide which one she would be likely to choose as a partner if that were to happen. There was no way she was getting stuck with Malfoy.

After half the lesson had been dedicated to the revision on erogenous zones, it was time for the practical. Hermione had thoughtfully brought a skirt to change into as she didn’t relish the idea of removing her trousers so someone could touch her inner thighs. If she was honest, she didn’t actually like the idea of somebody she didn’t know doing that anyway, but of course, as a main erogenous area, it was bound to come up.

‘I want you to work with others for this,’ Lyn said. ‘Pairs or groups — the choice is yours. The only rule is no touching of genitals. Other than that, feel free to go at it. See how those erogenous zones work. I expect you all to give and receive plenty of pleasure before the end of the class.’

Hermione instantly turned away from Malfoy as she had a feeling he would seek her out. It would be just his style to attempt to really embarrass her by becoming her partner. She smiled shyly at the man next to her, who reminded her somewhat of Neville.

‘Hi, I’m Chris,’ he said, holding out his hand as he returned the smile.

‘I’m Hermione,’ she said. She heard a small growl of annoyance from Malfoy and turned to see him conversing with a girl who had come from the other side of the room to talk to him.

‘Do you want to be my partner?’ Chris asked.

‘If you like,’ Hermione replied nervously. ‘I think it’s a bit weird, though, us touching without knowing anything about each other.’

Chris nodded in agreement. ‘How about we take it in turns to touch a zone and while we’re being touched we have to tell each other all about ourselves.’

‘That sounds good,’ Hermione replied, trying to relax. She relaxed more when she saw Draco leading the girl over to a group that had formed towards the front of the class.

‘Would you prefer to join the group?’ Chris asked, following her gaze.

‘Not really,’ Hermione admitted. ‘It’s hard enough with just two of us.’

‘I know exactly what you mean,’ Chris said.

He pulled his beanbag over beside hers and they began to touch. He went first as women had more zones. His finger trailed over her throat as he bent to plant small kisses on it.

‘Mmm, that feels good,’ Hermione said.

‘So . . . tell me all about you,’ Chris reminded her.

Hermione told him about her Muggle upbringing and about how she had found out she was a witch, about Hogwarts and how she had become friends with Ron and Harry, while Chris continued to nibble at her neck. When his hands pulled her hair up and his mouth found the nape of her neck with his hot breath she almost cried out in desire.

Realising things might be going a bit too far, Chris stopped and Hermione took over, her fingers gently brushing at the skin inside his elbows as he told her about his childhood. Chris was a Pure-blood and had been home-schooled, which was why she hadn’t recognised him from Hogwarts. He expressed disappointment at not having been to school, but apparently none of his long and illustrious family line had ever had anything but tutors.

He admitted the caressing was nice, to begin with, but was annoying after a while, so Hermione stopped. Instead, he moved to touch her, running his hand up and down her spine as she talked to him about Harry and Ron and what they had done in their later years at school. As she lay on her front with Chris massaging her back, she glanced over at the group at the front of the room. Malfoy didn’t seem to be getting very involved. In fact, he was steadfastly watching her and Chris. A streak of wicked thoughts shot through Hermione’s mind.

‘My turn again,’ she whispered, and she got Chris to remove his shirt and lie down on his front. Slowly she caressed the small of his back with fingers and tongue, smiling when Chris moaned loudly with pleasure. As she looked up and across the room, she could see Malfoy watching her, a scowl on his face.

‘Stop, Hermione, please,’ Chris whispered, and she released him, still looking at Malfoy as Chris sat up and re-buttoned his shirt.

Just then Lyn clapped her hands loudly, making Hermione jump.

‘Okay, folks, time’s up,’ she said happily. ‘I’m sure you all got a good idea of how erogenous zones work when you’re touched by other people. So your assignment this week is to document how it feels when you touch those zones yourself. Do they work when you D.I.Y.? Or do you need someone else to give you that thrill?’

‘Can I walk you back to your room?’ Chris asked as they picked up their bags.

‘Yes, thank you,’ Hermione replied with a smile.

Beside her, she heard another grunt as Draco grabbed his bag and stormed out of the classroom without even a backwards glance.

 

 

* * *

 

 

Hermione and Chris had cemented their friendship outside of class and met for lunch at least once a week. Hermione hadn’t yet introduced him to Harry and Ron as she still didn’t want them finding out about the class, but she and Chris got on so well she expected that eventually, she would.

As Hermione had anticipated, the class continued to dwindle in size until there were only a dozen students left. She and Chris had become partners of sorts, during both the discussions and the bi-monthly practical element. Malfoy was still sitting the other side of her and making his snide comments, but Hermione found it easier to ignore him now and always turned to Chris whenever a partner was required.

Of course, Chris had noticed Draco’s dealings with her and during their first lunch date, he enquired carefully about their status as a couple, seemingly under the impression that she and Draco were in some sort of weird open relationship. Hermione assured him that she and Malfoy were not in any way an item and told him briefly of their enmity at school. Amazingly, or maybe not so because of his family’s cloistered history, Chris had been largely unaware of Voldemort and his second rise to power and was thoroughly disgusted by the idea of Muggle-borns being called ‘Mudbloods’. Pure-blood he may be, but his family had never indulged in prejudice towards anyone. Hermione had a sneaking suspicion that may have only been because his family had never actually met any Muggles, but his protection of her increased from that day forward.

Chris always walked her back to her room at the end of class, and for a while, Hermione hoped this would put an end to Malfoy’s taunting. But he was always there, just a few paces behind her, always ready with a comment or taking a chance to embarrass her. She and Chris weren’t lovers, at least not yet, but with the way things were going in class it would surely be only a matter of time.

In fact, Chris, ever the pragmatist, discussed the situation with her one evening as they walked towards her room. Hermione had just been wondering whether there was any chance of a kiss happening between them when he stopped her and took hold of her hands.

‘Hermione, I think I need to get something cleared up with you,’ Chris said, sounding agonised.

She looked at her friend curiously. ‘What’s the matter?’ she asked gently.

‘I think we’re going to be getting quite intimate in class soon,’ Chris said. He sounded and looked uncomfortable. ‘And I guess it could spill over outside, too. The thing is, you’re a really nice girl, Hermione, but I don’t know if you and me getting intimate outside might affect what happens in class. I think we should hold off doing anything until the class is finished. You do understand, don’t you?’

Hermione’s heart sank at those words she had heard so many times before. _‘You’re a nice girl_ , _but . . . .’_ She didn’t even really hear the rest of his speech; her brain was already working to shut off the pain receptors around her heart. Great — she hadn’t even kissed this one and he had still dumped her; before they had even actually got together. She almost laughed aloud at the irony.

‘You do understand, don’t you?’ Chris repeated worriedly.

Hermione gave him a wan smile. ‘Of course. And . . . perhaps it’ll be easier if I’m not your partner anymore.’

Chris looked at her unhappily. ‘Oh, I didn’t mean that,’ he said quickly. ‘I just thought it might be too complicated trying to engage in a relationship while we’re taking the class. But of course, if you’d rather . . . .’ 

‘No, you’re right, of course, Chris. We should wait until class ends,’ Hermione said, swinging his hands.

Her brain had finally caught up with what he had been trying to say to her, and it wasn’t quite as bad as she had feared, although from her point of view whatever they were going to be doing in class would have been better inside a relationship rather than without one. She grinned at him to show she was okay, dismissing his worried frown, and leant forward to peck him on the cheek.

‘You will tell me if you don’t want to be my partner any longer, though, won’t you?’ she asked quietly.

‘If that unlikely event ever happens, then yes, I’ll tell you,’ Chris assured her. With a smile, he let go of her hands. ‘I’ll see you on Wednesday for lunch?’ he asked hopefully.

Hermione nodded her head. ‘Absolutely. Usual time, usual place.’

‘Have a good week, Hermione,’ he said sincerely as he began to back away.

‘You too, Chris,’ she replied as she turned to enter her room. And she really meant it.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘Mutual masturbation can be performed on its own, or it can be used as foreplay by couples,’ Lyn said. ‘As we’ve discovered, there are many different types of masturbation techniques some of which are better adapted for foreplay than others.’

She smiled around at the class. ‘Ladies, never underestimate the power of the effect of masturbation on your man. Many men get off on watching their partners pleasure themselves. And men, don’t forget that watching a woman masturbate tells you _everything_ you need to know about pleasuring your lover. Take note of how she touches herself and you’ll be able to make her come every time you make love.

‘And don’t forget, ladies, that watching your man in action can give you the information you need to pleasure him, too. How hard, how fast, the way he grips it, all these things are useful to know to ensure a perfect union between the two of you.’

She looked around the class once more. ‘Mutual masturbation can lead into those other semi-masturbatory states we discussed earlier, and we will get a chance to cover those at a later date. But for now, it’s time for you to finally get to grips, as it were, with those erogenous zones you didn’t get to last time. So, please pair up, ladies and gentlemen.’

Unconsciously, Hermione looked at Draco, who was watching her with an intense look on his face. When he spotted her looking he smiled salaciously as his hands undid his trousers and released his erection, his tongue running around his lips suggestively as he did so. Hermione turned away to partner Chris.

After a brief discussion, they began with Chris. Both of them stroked his cock, Hermione following his instructions on how he best liked to be touched. She found the experience highly sensual but couldn’t stop thinking about Malfoy and his impressive erection. She positioned herself where she had a good view of Malfoy and his partner, an attractive blonde who had latched onto him during the previous practical session, and she surreptitiously watched the couple as she worked on Chris, her hand caressing him as she squeezed his balls. When Chris climaxed he performed a cleaning spell, and then it was Hermione’s turn.

‘Are you all right?’ Chris whispered.

Hermione nodded but she didn’t look sure. ‘A bit nervous,’ she told him.

‘Why?’

‘Because I have to expose myself,’ she said, admitting her fear.

Chris smiled. ‘Don’t worry about that. Everyone’s busy but me,’ he replied soothingly. ‘And I really want to see you, Hermione.’ He winked at her and stroked her leg, his hand running up under her skirt to gently caress her inner thigh. ‘We’ll start with this, shall we?’ he whispered as Hermione lay back and pulled her skirt up.

She closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of Chris stroking her sensitive skin, a small mewl of desire escaping her lips. Once more comfortable with what was happening, she reached down to pull down her knickers. Chris helped her to remove them and she opened herself up to his gaze. Her hand reached down to press at the hard nub of her clit, rubbing it in the way that gave her the most pleasure, causing her to emit further small moans of joy.

Chris’ hand joined hers, his fingers brushing along the length of her slit, causing her to cry out again. Then, after watching the way she moved her fingers for a few minutes, he took over from her with his own. She whispered to him hoarsely and his fingers began little sawing movements as her back arched, those small cries escaping her lips once more as between them they brought her to a shuddering orgasm that had her crying out loudly.

Hermione opened her eyes to find herself staring at Malfoy again. Although one hand was still caressing his partner, his eyes were firmly fixed on Hermione’s body and on what she and Chris were doing. He smiled at her lewdly as she lay shaking from the orgasm, not even turning away from her as he brought his partner to climax. 

Hermione turned to look at Chris and smiled. ‘Well, that was certainly interesting,’ she said a little breathlessly.

Chris agreed. ‘Mmm. I’d like to have a go at some of the other things Lyn discussed,’ he admitted. ‘Although I have a feeling I might not be able to control myself,’ he said, with a slight tinge of a blush staining his cheeks.

‘Like what?’ Hermione asked interestedly. She sat up and pulled her skirt down to a more respectable level, scooping up her knickers and putting them quickly into her bag.

Chris blushed deeper. ‘Something like that intercrural thing . . . .’

‘Hmmm, that would be interesting,’ Hermione said with a grin. ‘Although you’re right, that could be very dangerous, especially when I’m that aroused. You might not be able to stop me.’

‘It wasn’t you I was worried about,’ Chris said, chuckling, ‘but you’ve just confirmed it — definitely too dangerous to attempt at the moment.’

Draco was right behind them as they headed for the door at the end of class. As he passed Hermione in the corridor his hand reached out to caress her bottom.

‘You should go without underwear more often, Granger,’ he whispered. ‘It’s a shame to hide away such beautiful attributes.’ Hermione flushed at the comment and jerked out of his grasp. ‘And such beautiful noises again, too. You know, we really should get together, you and me.’ His voice was soft and sensual, and it caused her spine to tingle. She opened her mouth to retort but he had already gone, walking down the corridor as if he had done nothing.

Beside her Chris walked along, oblivious. ‘Are you all right?’ he asked with a frown, seeing Hermione’s surprised and blushing face.

Hermione shook her head as if to clear it. ‘Oh, yes. Don’t worry. Malfoy just made a comment as he went past. It wasn’t anything important, though.’

But she could still feel the tingle his words had caused and was strangely disconcerted by it.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Lyn had obviously decided that the other semi-masturbatory techniques were a little too dangerous for that stage of the course, too, as the next lesson focussed instead on oral sex. There was a long and frank discussion about the merits of the act and people’s likes and dislikes, followed by a detailed look at the mechanics of both fellatio and cunnilingus, which, as ever Hermione found both interesting and informative.

She had never been all that keen on oral sex herself. She had given Ron blowjobs when they were a couple as he particularly enjoyed them, but she had never liked it when he came in her mouth. As for him going down on her, it hadn’t been a regular occurrence and she had tried quite hard to get along without it in every relationship since. She was perfectly happy to forgo that dubious pleasure just as long as she didn’t have to give head.

It was with some trepidation, therefore, that she prepared for the latest practical. As ever, Malfoy was displaying his cock to her, his tongue far lewder this week than previously as he ostentatiously licked his lips, and she was blushing as she turned away to join Chris. He, too, was looking a little strained.

‘Do you not want to do this?’ Hermione asked quietly, looking at her friend’s face.

Chris smiled weakly. ‘Of course I do,’ he said. ‘But I need you to do me first.’ He looked embarrassed to be asking.

‘I can do that,’ Hermione said, trying not to stammer. ‘Why? What’s the matter?’

Chris studied her intently for a moment as if gauging whether she was going to laugh, then admitted quickly, ‘If I go down on you first I’ll be so aroused I’m not sure I’ll last ten seconds.’

‘You first, then,’ Hermione said quietly, although quite a large part of her thought ten seconds sounded just about perfect. ‘Lie down.’

Hermione crawled towards Chris, reaching out to caress his hardness in the way she had learnt he liked. He hissed in pleasure as she touched him. Her attention was momentarily distracted by the loud sounds of enjoyment issuing from the blonde Malfoy was with, but she soon returned her attention to Chris. Her mouth slid gently over the end of his cock and he moaned loudly. Emboldened by the sound, she sucked on him, gently at first, then harder as his cries indicated his pleasure. Then she began to move her mouth, taking him deeper as she sucked; her hands found and playing with his balls as his stilted voice told her how wonderful she was.

She glanced up at Chris’ face and he gave a loud groan as he looked down at her in return. His hands twined into her hair as he pushed her further onto him. For a second, panic set in at his reaction, but the change in his cries indicated he was on the verge of coming. Hermione peeled his hands away and pulled back, keeping only the head of his cock in her mouth as Chris exploded, filling her with his seed.

The taste wasn’t great but nor was it as bad as she remembered and she managed to turn away and spit it into a tissue without Chris seeing her. He was still on his back with his eyes closed, breathing heavily. Hermione turned and realised with surprise that Malfoy had been watching her. He was laying on his back in the middle of being pleasured by his blonde friend but his gaze was, as was so often the case, firmly on Hermione and Chris. A lascivious smile crossed his face as he saw her looking at him, his tongue once again licked his lips suggestively.

Hermione jumped as Chris, now recovered and ready to return the favour, touched her shoulder. She glanced at Malfoy again and received another of those smirks, and she realised he would be watching as Chris went down on her. Slightly flustered, she submitted to Chris’ touch as he pushed her down onto her back and rose over her, his hands already moving to caress her thighs.

After a soothing amount of inner thigh massage, Chris removed Hermione’s knickers, brushing his hand over her mound and feeling the damp warmth of her arousal as he did so. Once she was open to him he pulled her legs wider, gazing down at where his fingers were stroking her vulva. A moment later he was between her legs, his tongue grazing around her clitoris as Hermione bit her bottom lip in an effort to not cry out. Then Chris’ tongue was on her slit, sliding between her soft folds. He groaned with enjoyment and wrapped his arms around her legs to pull her closer to his mouth. Hermione arched her back unconsciously and let out several small whimpers as her head turned to the side.

Draco had moved his partner to a different position, obviously to give himself a better view of Hermione and Chris. But the feelings Chris was drawing from Hermione overtook all worry about being watched by her former nemesis as her muscles contracted, causing her to cry out in ecstasy. And still Chris continued; her pussy became more and more sensitive, every slight touch causing her to cry in a mixture of pleasure and pain as she begged him to release her. Again her eyes caught Draco’s to find that lecherous gaze fixed firmly on her as Chris sucked on her clit, causing her to explode with a loud wail. A moment later Malfoy, too, came, his partner pulling away to gaze at him happily as she swallowed his seed.

Chris finally released Hermione and she lay there panting, unable to regulate her breathing or her heart, which seemed to be beating twice as fast as usual. That had been the most unique and wonderful experience of her life; she now realised her previous lovers had not been very good. In fact, she decided Ron and no doubt Harry too, could definitely benefit from doing the course themselves. Chris had crawled up next to her and pulled her into his arms and talked to her quietly, his hand stroking her face as her breathing and heart rate slowly returned to normal. He had seen Draco watching them, as usual, and pulled Hermione’s skirt down to cover her modesty, something she found touching and strangely quaint.

By now the sounds of whispering had overtaken the sounds of pleasure in the room and Lyn called the class to order. She spent a few minutes priming them for their next lesson, warning them that they were now reaching the serious stage of the course. The students laughed nervously as they collected their things. Everyone knew what the next stage was.

Chris had already picked up his bag and stood ready to leave.

‘Sorry, I’ve got to get going,’ he said apologetically. ‘It’s my best mate’s birthday and I’m supposed to go for a drink with him tonight. He tried to get me to blow off class, but I couldn’t do that to you.’ He looked tenderly at Hermione and then his eyes strayed to Draco, who seemed to be in deep conversation with the blonde. ‘I’m really sorry, Hermione.’

Hermione smiled at him, trying not to let her disappointment show. ‘No problem, Chris,’ she said cheerfully. ‘You get on. Have a good evening and don’t get too drunk.’

Chris bent to kiss her on the cheek, then headed towards the door, not bothering to look back. Hermione watched him go, her heart sinking. They had finally got intimate, extremely intimate, and he couldn’t wait to get away from her. What would he be like if they actually had intercourse? Her eyes had drifted in Malfoy’s direction and she noted that he was still busy with the blonde. She quickly finished packing her bag and made her way to the exit.

 

 

* * *

 

 

‘Mmmm, you can certainly do that to me any time you want, Granger,’ Malfoy said, his seductive voice in her ear again as he caught her once more just outside the door. She had absolutely no idea how he had managed to get there that fast. ‘You have a very good technique. Your partner certainly seemed to enjoy it.’

He blew gently on the back of Hermione’s neck, making one of those tingling shivers run through her and causing her to bite her lip so as not to make a noise.

‘And I’d be more than happy to reciprocate. You look delicious — and taste that way, too, judging by the way your friend was enjoying himself. Just think of the pleasure we could give each other, Granger. And all those beautiful noises you make.’

Draco’s arm wrapped around Hermione’s waist as he pressed against her back, his breath hot in her ear. Hermione froze. She knew squirming would just make him grip her tighter. She needed to wait for him to relax his grasp a bit before she could get away.

‘I really don’t understand what your problem with men is,’ Draco continued silkily, ‘unless you’re completely frigid when it comes to intercourse.’

Hermione stiffened in his arms. She had no idea what her problem was either, but regardless of what it was, it was none of Malfoy’s business.

‘Leave me alone,’ she said unhappily. ‘What does it matter to you what my problem is?’ She tried to pull away but Draco pulled her back against him.

‘I can help you if you want, Granger,’ he said, his lips brushing the side of her neck as he spoke. ‘All you have to do is ask.’

‘Stop it. I’m not interested,’ Hermione said, trying to stop her voice from catching. ‘Now, let me go.’ This time she pushed away and succeeded. Draco had released her.

‘You’re lying, Granger,’ he said smoothly, looking at her intently. ‘You want me as much as I want to fuck you — you just don’t want to ask for it.’

He licked his lips as he looked at her musingly for a moment longer. ‘Is that it, Granger?’ he asked wonderingly. ‘Would you prefer me to just take it?’ He took a step towards her, his eyes glinting wickedly, but stopped when he saw the look of distress in Hermione’s eyes.

‘Please tell me you didn’t mean what I think you meant,’ Hermione said quietly, shaking her head as she backed away from him.

‘I didn’t mean _rape_ if that’s what you’re thinking,’ Draco said defensively. ‘I just meant that some women like it a bit rougher, like to be dominated — still consensual, but—’

‘Well, not me,’ Hermione said quickly. ‘And for your information, Malfoy, I have no interest in you, sexual or otherwise.’ Gripping her bag tightly, she walked around him warily as if worried he would grab her again and hurried down the corridor towards her room, not even looking back.

‘Keep telling yourself that, Granger,’ Draco said softly as he watched her go. ‘But I know differently.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione had been worried that Chris would dump her as his partner, but he turned up for lunch as usual on Wednesday and seemed perfectly normal and friendly, so Hermione relaxed a little. Maybe he really had gone to a friend’s birthday drinks and it hadn’t just been an excuse to get away from her after their intimacy.

That turned out to be the truth because he introduced her to the birthday boy, a Scotsman whose name was Robbie, or Rob to his friends. The two of them had ribbed each other mercilessly about the massive hangovers they had suffered the following day.

Robbie had been pleasant enough, and when told that Hermione was Chris’ partner in the class he had refused to miss, he gave a knowing smile.

‘Oh, aye, no wonder he didn’t want to skip class,’ he said. ‘If you were my class partner I probably wouldn’t have made the drinks at all.’ He winked at Hermione, making her blush. ‘So, is there any chance of you taking this wee reprobate under your wing outside of class?’ Robbie asked interestedly.

Hermione blushed again, uncertain of what to say.

‘Leave her alone, Rob. The poor girl doesn’t need you badgering her,’ Chris said in amusement. ‘I only brought you over to introduce you — now bugger off.’

Robbie grinned almost maniacally. ‘Very possessive,’ he stage-whispered into Hermione’s ear. ‘You wanna watch him, love. What you need is someone a little more relaxed, maybe someone . . . Scottish.’

Chris glared at his friend but there was no real malice attached to it. ‘Why on earth would she want to be saddled with someone Scottish?’ he asked, shaking his head. ‘She’s got better taste than that.’

Robbie punched Chris affectionately on the arm. ‘Not that good or she wouldn’t have found herself stuck with you,’ he retorted. Then, patting Chris on the shoulder, Robbie gave an ostentatious wave accompanied by a kiss blown to Hermione and wandered off to another table to chat with other friends.

‘Sorry about Rob,’ Chris said, looking at his friend ruefully. ‘He does go a bit over the top sometimes.’

Hermione grinned. ‘I rather liked him although I can imagine he can be a bit overwhelming after a while. Does he know what class we’re taking?’

Chris went a bit pink. ‘No, I haven’t told any of my friends what class it is. I didn’t really fancy getting the piss ripped out of me more than I already do. Have you told your friends?’

Hermione shook her head. ‘No. I know exactly what you mean about getting the piss taken, though. Harry and Ron would rib me for eternity, I expect. Although I was thinking they could do with taking the class themselves. Perhaps once I’ve finished I’ll suggest they sign up for it next year.’ She smirked wickedly.


	4. Chapter 4

Lyn had left the class on tenterhooks for six lessons by not having a practical session. Everyone was aware that full intercourse had to be next topic on the list. After all, they had discussed it in minute detail — everything from contraception to diseases to the various different positions. But there had been no sign of the practical class yet, and Hermione had to admit she was glad. Although she had really enjoyed the things she had done with Chris, she was still a little nervous about actually having full sex with him. She was aware everyone in the class was in the same situation, but casual sex had never been an attraction for her and she didn’t really want to start now although admittedly Chris was a better choice than anyone else in the class. He was certainly a better choice than Malfoy.

When Lyn produced a copy of the Kama Sutra, Hermione hoped they might be studying it in-depth before they had to have a practical. Certainly the timetable fit. If they studied the book properly it would take them until almost the end of the year. But Lyn didn’t intend to study it in its entirety. Instead, she dipped into it, covering some of the more popular and easily achievable positions and for some light relief the weirder or least possible ones, offering a reward for anyone in her class who could perform one of them successfully without the use of magic.

Eventually, after weeks of discussion, the fateful day arrived when the class was to do the practical. Hermione’s relationship with Chris was still fine although no further on than it had been when she had first partnered him. Even knowing what was coming he had steadfastly refused all her subtle hints that they become a couple, and although they still met for lunch and sat together in class it seemed to Hermione that as time went on he was drawing away from her somewhat.

She was a little anxious about what this would mean in class. She wasn’t sure which worried her more, the idea of him refusing to be her partner for this last important stage or him being her partner and then dropping her like a discarded toy. The only consolation she had was that Malfoy’s comments had finally dried up. Since their last run-in in the corridor he hadn’t spoken to her at all or even really looked at her.

By the time the evening of the class came Hermione was so nervous about what was to come that she really wasn’t in the mood at all and was seriously considering not attending. But she knew that wasn’t fair to Chris if he intended to stay as her partner — which she had no reason except her own pessimism to believe he didn’t — and there was no way she was going to prove Malfoy right by chickening out now, not after everything she had already been through. She had no idea what the rest of the course would contain or whether she would continue to attend after tonight although she and Chris had mulled over the various possibilities during their weekly lunches. Whatever happened in the future, Hermione knew she had to see this evening out.

Even if it was for no other reason than to stick two fingers up at Malfoy.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione found herself taking more care with her clothing than usual, pulling on her best underwear although she had no idea why. It wasn’t as if Chris would even really notice. But somehow the soft, silky garments made her feel better, gave her more confidence, and by the time she entered the classroom she had almost managed to rid herself of the shakes although the butterflies in her stomach were still fluttering madly. She stared in panic at the empty beanbag where Chris usually sat. What if he didn’t turn up? But a few minutes later he arrived, gesturing to her apologetically as she rushed over to talk to him.

‘I thought you weren’t coming,’ she said in relief.

‘I did consider it,’ Chris admitted.

‘So did I,’ Hermione said with a smile which faded as she noticed Chris didn’t return it.

‘Is there a problem?’ she asked. The butterflies were moving again.

Chris looked around to where Draco stood, watching them as always. ‘Look, I don’t want to upset you, Hermione,’ he began.

Hermione’s blood ran cold and the butterflies swooped and swirled madly. ‘But you’re dropping me,’ she said quietly, sounding shell-shocked. ‘What did I do wrong, Chris?’

Chris’ cheeks took on a pink tinge. ‘I just don’t think we’re suited,’ he said, shrugging as he spoke.

‘And you couldn’t tell me this before?’ Hermione asked unhappily. ‘All this time we’ve been partners and you had to wait until tonight?’

‘I’ve been thinking it over all week,’ he admitted sounding equally miserable. ‘I really like you, Hermione, but I’m not sure what I want, and I don’t think I can just have sex with you and then have it just be over between us.’

Hermione let out the breath she had been holding while Chris talked. ‘But that’s fine,’ she said with relief. ‘I don’t just want to do this with you and then have that be it, either.’ She took his hands and looked into his eyes. ‘I thought you knew that by now.’

‘The problem is, you don’t want me,’ Chris told her bluntly.

‘Yes, I do,’ Hermione said, worry beginning to rise again. ‘I was worried about it at first but I’m happy for you to be my partner.’

Chris nodded. ‘Yes, I know, but why?’

‘I don’t understand.’ Hermione looked confused.

‘Why do you want _me_ to be your partner, Hermione when it’s _him_ you really want?’  Chris pointed at Draco, who immediately stopped his conversation and looked in their direction.

‘No, I don’t,’ Hermione said numbly. ‘I hate Malfoy. There’s no way—’

‘That’s just not true,’ Chris said gently. ‘I don’t know what really happened between the two of you at school, but there’s definitely unfinished business there. Perhaps you just need to face up to the fact that you fancy each other.’

‘Please, Chris, don’t do this,’ Hermione begged, still holding onto his hand. ‘I want to be with you, not him.’

‘How long have you been lying to yourself, Hermione?’ Chris asked. He watched as Draco headed towards them.

‘So are you lovebirds all ready, then?’ Draco asked with a smirk, ‘Big night tonight. I have to admit, Granger, I didn’t think you’d get this far. You’ve definitely managed to surprise me.’

Hermione turned away, looking at Chris again, but he pulled his hand from hers and took a step backwards. Draco looked at Hermione and her partner and smirked even more widely as he realised there was a problem between them.

‘Lost another one, have you, Granger?’ he said smugly. ‘And you haven’t even fucked him yet. Gods, you’re hopeless.’ He gave a loud laugh. ‘I’ll tell you what: I’ll do you a favour and help you out.’ He held out his hand to her. ‘Come on, Granger, you and me. You know you want it. Just think how hard I can make you come.’

Hermione stared at him in horror. ‘I wouldn’t touch you if you were the last man on earth, Malfoy,’ she said vehemently.

‘I don’t know why you’re lying,’ Draco shot back. ‘I mean, you never stop looking at my cock. Don’t tell me you haven’t wondered how good it would feel inside you.’

‘No, I haven’t,’ Hermione replied coldly. ‘I’ve had rather better people to think about.’

Chris, watching the exchange, was confused by Draco’s behaviour. That he fancied Hermione was crystal clear, even more so than her attraction to him. But instead of treating her kindly he was arrogant and selfish, calling her by her surname and pretending he would be doing her a favour by making love to her. Whatever was going on between them obviously ran far too deep to be sorted here today, and Chris suddenly realised that if he left Hermione to Draco’s mercies he would be no friend at all. As much as the couple needed to sort things out — and Merlin’s beard, they really did — he couldn’t stand by and watch Hermione give herself to Draco while he had that sort of attitude problem.

But that left him with a major problem. He really did like Hermione and was sure that with her intercourse would be every bit as wonderful as everything else they had shared so far. But then he wouldn’t want to let her go, wouldn’t want to give her up to Draco, even though he knew he would have no choice eventually.

Hermione and Draco were still sniping at each other. He had grabbed her hand and was trying to pull her towards him, ignoring the way her eyes narrowed dangerously. His manners hadn’t improved any, and Hermione was clearly upset.

‘What do you think you’re doing?’ Chris asked, suddenly taking charge. He took Hermione’s other hand. ‘Hermione is my partner unless _she_ decides otherwise. So I’ll thank you to let go of her, Malfoy, and return to your own partner.’

‘She doesn’t want you,’ Draco said sneeringly. ‘We both know that. It’s only Granger being too pig-headed to admit it.’

‘I expect it would help if you didn’t call her Granger all the time,’ Chris said coldly. ‘She does have a first name, you know.’ Hermione looked at him gratefully and wriggled the hand that was in Draco’s grasp. Reluctantly he released her.

‘So he’s your choice, is he?’ Draco asked in disgust. Hermione nodded and moved closer to Chris. ‘You’re welcome to her,’ Draco said dismissively to Chris, and turning on his heel he walked away.

‘You do know you have to sort this, don’t you, Hermione?’ Chris asked her after Draco had gone. He looked deep into her eyes.

‘There’s nothing to sort.’ Hermione was shaking.

‘Hermione, you have got to stop lying to yourself. It’s obvious you fancy him just as much as he fancies you. But the way you treat each other . . . it’s mental!’

‘We’ve always been like this,’ Hermione said. ‘And you’re wrong — we definitely don’t fancy each other.’

‘Then no wonder you’re both so bloody frustrated,’ Chris said. He relented and added a little more tenderly, ‘Come here.’ He pulled a very miserable-looking Hermione into his arms and kissed her gently on the forehead. ‘This isn’t going to go away, you know,’ he told her. ‘You really do need to sort this out.’

‘There’s nothing to sort,’ Hermione insisted as she sank deeper into Chris’ arms.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Hermione purposely avoided looking at Malfoy for the rest of the class, determined to prove Chris wrong about her desire for him. That was something she didn’t want to think about, couldn’t think about, especially when she was already so nervous about the evening. She was determined to show Chris that it was _him_ she wanted and convince him that he wanted her in return. If she could prove that, maybe he would want to stay with her and for once she might have a relationship that lasted more than a few short weeks. She sat close to him, still shaking, as Lyn opened the class with a discussion of what the evening would entail. Hermione’s mouth was dry as she cast the contraceptive charm.

‘What’s the matter?’ Chris asked, looking at her worriedly.

‘I wish we weren’t doing this here,’ she said quietly. ‘It seems so . . . .’

He stroked her back soothingly. ‘We’ve managed everything else,’ he said softly. ‘I’m sure this will be no different.’

‘Except that you don’t want me,’ Hermione said unhappily.

Chris looked at her intently for a moment. ‘That’s not true, Hermione. I do want you.’ His hand stretched to stroke her cheek. ‘But if you’re not sure . . . .’

‘No,’ Hermione said quickly, putting her hand on his. ‘I’m sure. I really want this with you, Chris.’ She gave him a small, weak smile. ‘Please?’

Chris wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her to him. His mouth searched out hers, lips lightly pressing as his teeth gently captured the soft skin in small nibbling movements. Hermione’s arms sought him out, her hand in his hair pulling his head closer as the kiss deepened. His tongue slid tentatively into her mouth, brushing against her own tongue. And then his lips were on her neck leaving whisper-soft kisses that made Hermione gasp. Her hands slid beneath his shirt, her fingers brushing his lower back in the way that had given him so much pleasure previously.

‘Oh, Hermione,’ he whispered. He pushed her down onto her back and rubbed his body against hers as he revisited her throat with his lips.

Hermione gave a deep moan of desire. Her hand reached to rub at the hard bulge in Chris’ trousers, her arousal growing as she heard his need vocalised in response. Her fingers fumbled frantically for the zip and she tugged down his jeans and pants, releasing his hardness. She squeezed it to another groan of pleasure from Chris and she pulled him into another tingling kiss.

Now Chris joined in. His hands slid up her legs, pushing up her skirt. His fingers found her knickers and brushed slowly over the soft silk, enjoying the feel of the luxurious material against her skin. Hermione whimpered and opened her legs to him, stifling a cry as his fingers slid beneath the fragile material and into her molten core. Chris gave another groan of desire at this and their mouths met again, tongues locking as they bit at each other. Hermione broke away to suck his bottom lip.

‘I want you inside me,’ she whispered, her fingers still grasping his cock.

Chris’ hand left her vulva and with both hands, he drew her knickers down. Hermione shrugged them off and opened her legs wider, guiding him until he was pressing against her tight entrance.

‘Take me,’ she begged as she released him.

With a cry of excitement, Chris pushed deep inside Hermione’s tight sheath, causing her to call out too as she pulled him deeper inside her.

‘Oh, gods, Hermione, you feel so good,’ Chris moaned.

Hermione merely whimpered as she moved against her lover, her breathing soon becoming thready and fast. Chris grabbed her hands and pulled her arms above her head, holding her down as he thrust into her. Small moans escaped his lips as he pressed his mouth to her throat once more. Excited by his possession of her, Hermione wrapped her legs around his back, matching him stroke for stroke and moan for moan. Nothing mattered but the exquisite feeling Chris was giving her and her desire to give him the same pleasure.

His lips found her face and kissed all over it as he looked into her eyes, his nose rubbing gently against hers as they continued to move together. ‘Stay with me tonight,’ he rasped. ‘I need you.’

‘Yes!’ Hermione cried, ‘Oh, god, yes . . . .’

Chris’ mouth plunged again and captured hers as she cried out, her climax so close now. He released her hands and she grabbed his head and pulled him down to kiss her deeply as her hands ran through his hair.

‘Oooooh . . . I’m coming,’ she wailed as she felt her muscles contract around Chris’ hard length. She cried out again and moaned his name into his cheek, her eyes squeezed shut as she felt him still moving inside her, each thrust causing a tingle of electricity throughout her whole body. Chris was moaning too, his lips nipping kisses over her mouth as he stiffened, holding himself inside her. A moment later he screamed out his release as he climaxed hard, still buried deep. 

And then it was over. The two of them lay together, hands caressing faces and running through hair as they gazed at each other, lips meeting gently, again and again, interested in no one but them. After a minute or so Chris rolled off Hermione, worried about squashing her, but he pulled her into his arms, still looking at her tenderly.

‘Thank you,’ she whispered, smiling.

Chris gave a small chuckle. ‘I think I should be thanking you. That was wonderful.’ He bent to kiss her again.

Hermione sat up, adjusting her skirt as she used a cleaning charm. She glanced briefly around the room. About half the couples had finished and were sitting talking quietly; no one was interested in the ones who were still making love. Her eyes were caught by Malfoy, who was looking at her with an angry expression on his still face. Somehow she just knew he had been watching her, and anger flared within her. She was fed up with his peeping-tom act. She turned away and stroked Chris’ face, making sure Malfoy could see her.

‘I want to get you naked so badly,’ she admitted as she leant to kiss him.

‘Not as badly as I want you,’ Chris replied as he pulled her closer.

‘Want to bet?’ she managed as his lips closed over hers once more.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Classes resumed after Easter, and as Hermione and Chris had predicted, the topic for the rest of the year was an in-depth look at alternative lifestyles and the kinkier aspects of sex and how such things worked to drive the desires of their own bodies. They laughed when the subject of spanking was raised halfway through the first lesson, and the couple indulged in a mock battle as each attempted to spank the other.

It was finally Chris who won out, as they both knew he would, and during the practical, he, Hermione and Draco, who was still watching them as closely as ever, discovered Hermione was very much into that particular game. What had begun with Hermione complaining had ended with both her and Chris highly aroused. Hermione’s face flushed the same colour as her bottom and her eyes were hooded with desire as Chris gently caressed her, his own arousal stoked by the sight of his handprints on her creamy skin. They were both very eager to get back to Hermione’s room after the lesson ended, wanting to explore the game further as well as move onto the lovemaking that was now almost a given.

Hermione was happier than she had ever been and was pleased that her relationship with Chris — now a real relationship, not just based on their class work — seemed to be going from strength to strength. She just hoped she wouldn’t do something stupid to ruin it. Even this far through the course she was still unable to determine what she had done to ruin her previous relationships although in truth she was trying not to focus on it too hard in case it triggered something that caused the upset and ruined her growing relationship with Chris.

Her only real problem now was with Malfoy. She wished he would just get over his need to try and ruin her life. Surely it was time for them to put the nastiness that had happened between them at school behind them and just get on with their lives, wasn’t it?

Draco still sat beside Hermione during class and took every opportunity to throw a suggestive comment or salacious glance her way, which she was trying her hardest to ignore. Chris was amazed that the man didn’t seem to have learnt anything about the way to deal with Hermione, and was equally surprised that she was still trying to convince herself there was nothing between her and the blond man when it so clearly took up such a huge part of both their lives.

 


	5. Chapter 5

‘So what do you want?’ Draco asked coldly.

‘What are you talking about, Malfoy?’ Chris asked, sounding confused. They were walking across the quad, where Draco had accosted Chris on his way to the cafeteria.

‘What’s your price to leave Granger alone?’ Draco looked intently at Chris.

‘What do you mean, price?’ Chris asked, sounding faintly disgusted.

‘Oh, don't pretend to be so naive, Chris,’ Draco replied. ‘Everyone’s got their price. You’re no exception. So come on, tell me, what do you want me to give you to make you dump her?’

Chris stopped walking and shook his head in amazement. ‘Nothing. You’re absolutely disgusting, Malfoy. Do you really think buying me off will get you anywhere nearer with Hermione?’

Draco gave a sharp bark of a laugh. ‘Well, it worked well enough with all the others. Most guys are only too eager to give up when they know they’re going to get exactly what they want instead of her. Anyway, you know it’s me she really wants.’

Chris looked at him with dawning understanding. ‘You’re the reason Hermione can't hang onto a boyfriend.’

Draco laughed again. ‘My poor love, all those boys dumping her for no good reason. She must be getting a real complex. It might even have been enough to make her sign up for a class if one was suggested to her. And who better to guide her and help her with her journey of sexual discovery than me?’

‘You set her up,’ Chris accused.

Draco shrugged unconcernedly. ‘What if I did? It wasn’t as if I was being malicious about it. I was just getting rid of the very unworthy competition.’ He scowled. ‘And then _you_ came along and fucked everything up.’

Chris laughed loudly at that. ‘You’ve done a wonderful job of fucking it up on your own, Draco, no help needed from me.’ 

‘But she chose _you_ to be her partner,’ Draco said, his scowl deepening. ‘That was never meant to happen. It was supposed to be me.’

‘Yes, amazing how badly you blew it, especially considering you’re right and she really does fancy you — although of course, she would never admit that.’

Draco looked frustrated. ‘So as I said, what do you want to make you go away?’

Chris said nothing but looked at Draco, seeming to consider something.

‘And as I said — nothing,’ he answered finally. ‘Nothing could make me drop Hermione like that. But I will give you some advice.’

Draco looked at him sneeringly. ‘Advice. I don't need advice from you.’

Chris shrugged. ‘Fine. In that case, you may as well resign yourself to never being with Hermione.’ He turned away, but Draco grabbed his shoulder.

‘Okay,’ Draco said. His voice had a slightly desperate quality to it. ‘Tell me.’

Chris looked at Draco, seeing the eagerness in his eyes at the idea that Chris might tell him something that would get him closer to his heart’s desire. He hesitated for a moment. Once he told Draco what he needed to do, his own relationship with Hermione would be as good as over. However much she tried to convince herself there was nothing between her and her old enemy, it was a lie, and once he had given Draco the tools to correct the mistakes he was making with her, Chris was sure she would be unable to resist Draco’s charms and Chris would be all but forgotten. But at least telling Draco what he needed to know ensured that Hermione would be treated properly by him at last. Draco’s attitude towards her was deplorable and had to completely change if things were to work out for the couple.

Chris sighed. ‘All right. First of all, you really need to stop calling her by her surname. That was fine when you hated each other at school—’ He stopped to look at Draco again and wondered, not for the first time, just how long this had been going on between the couple. ‘But you’re adults now and if you want any chance of a relationship you need to get over whatever was going on between the two of you then and call Hermione by her first name. Have you any idea how off-putting being called by your surname is, especially for a woman?’

Draco thought about this for a moment before nodding his understanding. ‘I suppose it’s always been such a habit,’ he said musingly, ‘after I stopped calling her Mudblood.’

Chris shook his head again, making a small noise of disgust. ‘I really don't understand this thing between you two at all,’ he said.

‘Neither do I,’ Draco admitted stiffly. ‘All I know is that she drives me mad with desire. She always has done. But I never expected it to be this hard.’

‘It really isn't that hard,’ Chris said with a small laugh. ‘You just have to be _nice_ to her and drop the attitude. Making out you’re doing her a favour isn't going to help your cause either.’

Draco smirked. ‘But I would be doing her a favour.’

Chris cut his smile dead. ‘Wrong. If — and unless you can change your attitude, it’s a big if — you ever manage to get anywhere near to being intimate with Hermione, you’ll soon realise that it’s not you doing the favour. You need to stop lying to yourself and tell the truth for once. Tell her how you really feel about her.’

Draco looked at him in horror. ‘I’m not telling her how I feel,’ he said dismissively. ‘She can tell me how much she wants me.’

Chris shrugged. ‘Of course, it’s your choice. But you’re going to get nowhere with Hermione the way you’re going.’ He looked at Draco for another few seconds then asked curiously, ‘If you’re that serious about her why don't you just ask her out?’

Draco snorted. ‘I can’t do that.’

‘Why not? What’s the matter? Worried she’ll turn you down?’ Chris asked sneeringly. ‘Or perhaps you’re lying to yourself about this relationship as much as Hermione is.’

Draco looked at him in confusion. ‘I don't understand,’ he said.

‘Hermione’s trying to pretend she’s not interested in you and you’re trying to pretend you’re not _that_ interested in her, that you just want her to admit her desire for you. If you really do fancy her, Draco then ask her out.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Draco muttered.

‘Of course it is. Just invite her to meet you for lunch or something. And cut the lecherous stuff, too. She already knows you want to get in her knickers; reminding her about it all the time isn’t flattering, it’s creepy.’

‘This is rubbish!’ Draco said heatedly.

‘Whatever. Do it your own way. But don't say I didn't warn you,’ Chris said. ‘And I’m not letting her go, not while you’ve got this shitty attitude. You’ve already made her fragile enough, hijacking her previous boyfriends like that. I won't let you hurt her just because you’re too bloody proud to admit you’re in love with her.’ He paused and looked back at Draco once more.

‘Just don't leave it too long,’ he said quietly, then turned and walked away.

Draco watched him go, thinking about what Chris had said. So now he knew for sure that Granger fancied him. Now, somehow, he had to get her to admit it, and then he had to get her away from Chris.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

‘I need to talk to you, Granger,’ Draco called out as Hermione walked down the corridor.

For a moment Hermione considered ignoring him and continuing on her way. She had only a few minutes before her Advanced Arithmancy class was due to start. Draco made his way over to her and grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.

She looked at Draco with a touch of fear. The last time he had grabbed her was when he had mentioned having sex with her by force. Although he had denied that he was hinting at raping her, she wasn’t at all sure he had been honest. Draco saw her look and also remembering their previous encounter he dropped her arm immediately, taking a step back to give her some space.

‘We need to talk,’ he said, his voice as controlled as he could make it.

‘We’ve got nothing to talk about, Malfoy,’ Hermione said abruptly. She adjusted the bag on her shoulder. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a class to get to.’

‘We need to talk about us,’ Draco continued as if he hadn’t heard Hermione’s words.

‘There is no _us,_ Malfoy,’ Hermione replied shaking her head. ‘Please, just leave me alone.’

‘You’re lying again,’ Draco said accusingly. ‘You know you’re attracted to me, the same way I’m attracted to you.’ He swallowed, wondering why he had just done what he had always sworn he wouldn’t and admitted to Hermione he fancied her.

Hermione shook her head again. ‘You’re wrong,’ she said although she didn’t sound convinced. ‘Anyway, I’m with Chris.’

‘Please, let’s just talk about it,’ Draco said. He was determined not to beg, but now he had actually started the conversation he wasn’t willing to let Hermione go without a suitable resolution.

‘I’ve got a class to get to,’ Hermione said. She looked uncomfortable. ‘I’ll be late if I don’t go now.’ She started to walk past him.

‘Then meet me for lunch,’ Draco replied rapidly. Hermione looked at him curiously then began to shake her head. ‘Please, Hermione,’ he pleaded. ‘I really need to talk to you about this.’

Hermione looked at him in surprise once more. He had called her by her first name. He had never done that before. Draco’s hand reached out to touch Hermione’s arm once again, resting lightly on it.

‘Please?’ He looked at her avidly.

‘I have to go,’ Hermione said anxiously.

‘Then agree to have lunch with me,’ Draco insisted.

Hermione bit her bottom lip for a moment as she thought. ‘We can’t go to the canteen,’ she said. ‘Harry and Ron will be there.’ She didn’t need to add that they would freak out at the sight of her and Draco together.

‘We’ll go out for lunch,’ Draco agreed, suddenly hopeful that this was going to work out. ‘Meet me at the gates?’

Hermione hesitated for a second, then gave a brief nod. ‘My class finishes at one.’

‘I’ll wait for you,’ Draco replied. He gave Hermione a smile. ‘Thank you, Hermione.’

‘I don’t know why I’m doing this,’ Hermione muttered.

Draco bit back the urge to taunt that it was because she fancied him. Instead, he said mildly, ‘I’ll see you just after one. Have a good class.’

He turned and walked back down the corridor leaving Hermione to head off to her classroom alone. As he walked he wondered whether she was looking at him but resisted the urge to turn and check.

Hermione watched Draco in confusion as he walked down the corridor away from her. She had no idea why he had changed, but change he clearly had. Almost completely gone was the smug and arrogant manner he usually affected in all his dealings with her, and in its place, it seemed a rather pleasant man was emerging. As she walked towards the classroom she silently berated herself for thinking he had changed at all. This was just another Slytherin ruse to catch her off her guard. She knew what he was really like, and pleasant wasn’t it.

But he had called her Hermione — and not even as an afterthought, or with obvious difficulty.

She reached her classroom and as she opened the door she let Draco slip from her mind as Arithmancy moved in to take his place.

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

Draco paced as he waited by the gate for Hermione. If truth be told, he was a little anxious. Although she had finally agreed to meet him, it was possible she had only told him that so he would leave her alone. He really hoped that wasn’t the case. But if she did meet him he would need to be more careful. During their earlier conversation, he had let it slip that he fancied her, something he had never intended to do.

The whole point was to get her to admit to fancying him and then he would move in for the kill, but only on his terms. He would never be the victor in this contest if he advertised his weakness so blatantly. She was supposed to come to him, to admit her passion for him, not reel him in because she knew of his desire.

But Chris had been right about one thing. Hermione had reacted much more favourably to his suggestion that they have lunch when he had called her by her first name. It was possible that Chris was right about the other things he had said as well, but Draco knew once again that would mean him opening himself up to scrutiny from Hermione and that was never going to happen.

He glanced at his watch for a moment and then looked in the direction he knew Hermione would be coming from. It was almost ten past one and there was no sign of her. Was she going to stand him up after all?

A little voice in his mind, the little voice that had caused him to do so many nasty things to Hermione over the years, was beginning to whisper about ways to make her pay for the slight she had inflicted upon him by not doing as she had agreed. Perhaps it was time those wankers she called her best friends found out about her secret class, it suggested . . . but Draco locked the voice down tight when he saw her looking a little flustered, hurrying out the door of the college block.

‘I’m so sorry I’m late, Draco,’ Hermione said apologetically when she joined him. ‘I had to stay behind to talk to Professor Benton. I didn’t understand one of the questions he set for homework, so I had to get him to explain it to me.’ She looked upset, and Draco couldn’t work out whether it was because of the homework or because of being late to meet him. He hoped it was the latter.

‘Did you get it sorted?’ he asked sympathetically. He reached out to take Hermione’s bag from her as they walked through the gate.

Hermione looked surprised at Draco’s offer to carry her bag, but she gladly relinquished the heavy item. Draco slung the bag over his shoulder, wondering what the hell she was carrying in there. It felt like a pile of bricks. How on earth did she lug that around all day?

‘I think so,’ Hermione said. ‘At least I understand the principle behind it now. But it’s such a complex calculation I think it’s going to take me all week to work through it.

‘No time for having fun, then,’ Draco said. _Or having sex with Chris_ , the little voice in his mind added gleefully.

Hermione shook her head. ‘Definitely no time for that. I’ve got so much homework stacking up I sometimes think I’ll never get it all finished. It’s ridiculous.’

Draco gave a small laugh. ‘I know what you mean. I always thought we had a lot of homework at Hogwarts, but that was nothing compared to what I get now. I don’t know how they expect us to get it all done, go to all our classes, and still have time for some relaxation.’

‘I’m not sure they honestly expect everyone to attend every class,’ Hermione said. ‘I think they factor in that people will be skipping bits, but it does make it difficult for those of us who do attend all the lectures.’

‘Do you want to go to a restaurant to eat or get a sandwich and go and sit in the park?’ Draco asked. ‘I’m happy to do whatever you want.’

Hermione thought for a moment, then looked at him. ‘You said you wanted to talk. So let’s get a sandwich. We’ll have a bit more privacy in the park. I don’t think I would feel comfortable in a restaurant.

What she meant was that she wouldn’t feel comfortable sitting in a restaurant with Draco as if they were on a date or something. They definitely weren’t, and she didn’t want him getting the wrong idea. Also, she was sure she didn’t want to talk about what Draco wanted to talk about anyway and embarrassing as the subject was, it was better out in the open space of the park than in a confined restaurant where they could be overheard easily.

Draco nodded his agreement and smiled although privately he was a little disappointed at Hermione’s choice. He realised he had been hoping to take her to a restaurant, that this would be a proper date rather than the informal chat Hermione was apparently determined to turn it into. He had even decided where they would go already, had chosen in his mind a nice restaurant not too far away that served good food and was pricey enough that Hermione was unlikely to have eaten there before, so she would probably have been quite impressed by it.

‘There’s a rather nice sandwich shop not too far from here. It’s just a couple of streets over,’ Hermione said, indicating down a road to the left. ‘It’s a Muggle one, but I’ve got some Muggle money so that won’t be a problem.’

‘No, I’ll pay,’ Draco said hurriedly. ‘I invited you out, so it’s the least I can do.’

Hermione was surprised that Draco had any Muggle money although maybe he had expanded his horizons a little and into the Muggle world now that he was at university and wasn’t so tied to his Muggle-hating parents.

A few minutes later they entered the shop, a bustling little place called Hawkins Cafe and joined the queue of people waiting to be served. Hermione looked at the trays of ingredients debating what she was going to have to eat. It all looked very tempting.

‘What are you going to have?’ Draco asked. He was trying to decide between some rather nice-looking rare roast beef and a chicken, bacon and avocado mixture teamed with mayonnaise.

‘I’ll have prawn salad on a sunflower bap, please,’ Hermione said. She reached into the cabinet behind her and pulled out a bottle of sparkling water. ‘And this, too.’

‘Can you get me one of those, please?’ Draco asked as he moved forward in the queue.

He gave their order to the server, choosing roast beef and mayonnaise on multi-grain bread for himself, and placed the bottles on the counter to be added to the meal. A few minutes later he paid, and carrying the plain brown paper bag he had been given he followed Hermione out the door and back towards the park.

‘Shall we go and sit by the bandstand?’ Hermione asked as they entered through the wrought iron gates.

Draco wrinkled his nose. ‘I think it’s going to be quite busy there and they might be playing. It’ll be a bit noisy and not exactly the most private of places. How about over there?’ He pointed towards a large tree that was giving excellent shade in the hot early afternoon sun. There was no one around apart from one person who was a little way away, laying on their back, asleep in the sunshine. And it was in a good position from which to see the pond and the children’s playground without being close enough to hear the noise of either well-populated area.

‘Okay,’ Hermione said with a shrug. She was trying not to be difficult even though she was still a little apprehensive about what would happen once they talked.

‘Sun or shade?’ Draco asked as they made their way over to the tree.

‘Oh, shade for me,’ Hermione said. ‘And for you, too, I imagine, with your skin tone.’

Draco looked at Hermione with surprise. ‘I would have thought you would want to sit in the sun. You always used to have such wonderful suntans after the summer holidays.’

‘I do like the sun,’ Hermione replied, ‘but mainly when I’m on holiday. Anyway, I haven’t got any sunscreen on and it’s too fierce at this time of day to sit out without it, I’ll burn. And so will you, unless you always wear factor ninety or something.’

‘I’m not really keen on the sun,’ Draco admitted as they sat down. ‘My skin burns easily, even with sunscreen, so I don’t usually bother trying to get a tan.’

Hermione smiled as Draco passed her sandwich and water bottle to her. ‘I think you would look really strange with a tan.’ She unwrapped the paper around the sandwich, resting it on her knees as she unscrewed the cap on the bottle of water and took a mouthful. ‘Actually, I rather like your pale skin. I wish mine was more like that. Mine goes all freckly.’

Draco felt his heart flutter when Hermione mentioned his skin. It wasn’t exactly an admission that she fancied him, but it was a start.

‘I like your freckles,’ he told her after he finished the mouthful of sandwich he was eating. ‘There aren’t too many of them, and they go well with your tan. They’re pretty.’

Hermione gave a small smile at the compliment. Now that she was talking to Draco, talking properly rather than the usual point-scoring crap they normally engaged in, she realised he was actually quite a nice person.  She reflected that he probably always was within his own circle of Slytherin friends, but the matter of her blood status had always meant there would be problems between him and Hermione.

Had Draco really changed since leaving school? It had only been a little over two and a half years since the battle that had changed everything in the wizarding world, leaving Draco and his family with their old-school, Pure-blood prejudices set adrift in a brave new world that didn’t tolerate hatred towards Muggle-borns or Muggles. It seemed hard to believe that he would change his views so rapidly, but then, to be honest, he hadn’t had any choice.

‘So is this thing with you and Chris serious, then?’ Draco asked after they had finished eating. He tried to keep his voice light, not wanting to give anything away.

Hermione felt a sudden thud in her stomach. The lunch had been pleasant so far; now they were getting to the bit she really didn’t want to do.

‘I don’t know about serious,’ she said, trying to sound light-hearted, ‘but I really like him . . . and I think he likes me, too.’ She looked at Draco for a moment, knowing he was aware of her terrible track record with boyfriends. ‘At least he hasn’t run away yet, which is a bonus.’

‘He likes you very much,’ Draco admitted although he didn’t like saying it. He moved closer to Hermione, close enough that he could hold her if he wanted. ‘But then again, so do I.’

Hermione stared at him, not quite sure what to say. Although he had told her in their previous conversation that he fancied her, she hadn’t seriously regarded it as any more than an attempt to get her to meet him for lunch. Yes, she was aware he wanted to take her to bed, he had made that more than clear during their classes. But the way he had just spoken made it sound like he wanted more than that. And that couldn’t be right.

Before she had a chance to answer, Draco wrapped his arms around her and pulled her to him, their faces so close his lips were almost touching hers. He wanted to kiss her, to show her with his lips just how much he wanted her, how much pleasure he could give her if she would just give him the chance. And it would stop him from sabotaging his own plans by saying anything else that he hadn’t meant to reveal. But before he could do it, something inside him warned that to kiss her now, before he had spoken to her, wouldn’t give him the result he wanted. He needed to talk and as much as he didn’t like the idea, as Chris had told him if he wanted any chance of a life with Hermione he needed to be honest with her.

‘I really want you, Hermione,’ he blurted out, his grip tightening a little as Hermione squirmed. ‘I fancy you like mad, I have done for ages, but you already know that.’

‘Let me go, Malfoy,’ Hermione said, worried about the way he had suddenly grabbed her. She was aware he was stronger than she was, and if he suddenly decided to carry out the threat he had made so long ago, she wouldn’t be able to stop him.

‘ _Hermione_ ,’ Draco growled, trying to quell the sudden anger that flared in him at her calling him by his surname when they had been getting on so well. ‘I just want to—’

‘Please, Draco, you’re scaring me,’ Hermione said unhappily.

‘I want you.’ Draco sounded miserable. He squeezed her tightly, then released her a little. ‘I’m not going to hurt you.’

‘I know you want to get in my knickers,’ Hermione said tartly, pushing at Draco to stop him from holding onto her, ‘but it’s not enough . . . not enough for _me_. I don’t want to be just another notch on your bedpost, Draco, another conquest to tell your friends about. I want more than that from a relationship. I don’t just jump into bed with someone because they’re attractive. I need love and kindness and all those things you can never give me.’

For a moment, Draco continued to hold her then, realising how upset she was, he released her and pulled back to give her some space although he took hold of her hands instead, to make sure she didn’t run away.

‘I don’t just want to get into your knickers,’ Draco said quietly. He grinned. ‘Actually, I’m not interested in your knickers at all. It’s what’s inside them I’m interested in, but not just as a conquest. I want more than that, too, Hermione. I want to love you and cherish you, protect you from everything bad — and I want to make love to you, to pleasure you and make you happy.’ Hermione shook her head as Draco spoke, not wanting to hear his words. ‘I know you’re attracted to me, too,’ Draco continued a little more forcefully, determined that Hermione would admit to him that she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

‘You are handsome,’ Hermione admitted grudgingly, ‘but I told you, you can’t give me what I need so I don’t want to get tangled up with you. It’s just not going to happen.’

‘How do you know I won’t give you what you need when you won’t even give me a chance?’ Draco asked reasonably.

‘Whatever you might say now, I know you’re not interested in a relationship with me,’ Hermione said. ‘You want to fuck me, pure and simple. I know that because you’ve mentioned it often enough. All this stuff about wanting more is just to make me lower my guard. You’ll give me all the platitudes in the world until I go to bed with you and then you’ll dump me — and knowing you, you’ll use what we’ve done as an opportunity to humiliate me further.’

She added unhappily, ‘You know what a mess my love life is, Draco. You said yourself I can’t keep hold of a man. I don’t know why it is, but it’s true, I can’t. But that doesn’t mean I have to throw myself at anyone who shows an interest as if I was some desperate old maid.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Draco said.

‘I need to go,’ Hermione told him, trying to pull her hands from Draco’s. ‘I need to get back for class.’

‘No,’ Draco said bluntly. ‘You’re not running away from this, Hermione. Don’t be a coward. You need to face up to the fact that you fancy me and that I could make you happy if you just gave me a chance.’

Hermione shook her head. ‘We are not destined to be a couple, Draco. We’ve never got on, and your sudden desire to fuck me doesn’t change that. Anyway, I’m not interested in doing anything with you. I’m with Chris, remember?’

‘And you think Chris will give you what you want, do you?’ Draco asked belligerently. ‘How can he do that when you don’t even really want to be with him?’

‘Of course I want to be with him,’ Hermione countered hotly. ‘I like Chris. I enjoy his company and we’re good together.’

‘Oh, you _like_ him. That’s nice. It’s a shame you don’t feel as passionately about him as you do about me otherwise, the relationship might be worth having. Let’s face it, Hermione, even Chris knows you would rather be with me.’

‘The only passion I feel for you is dislike,’ Hermione told him although she looked a little guilty at saying it, ‘and I don’t want to be with you, Draco, however many times you say it.’

‘Why do you keep lying?’ Draco asked, his frustration rising again. ‘The fact is that you want me just as much as I want you but you’re either too scared or too stubborn to admit it.’

And then once again he grabbed Hermione, pulling her towards him. This time he didn’t pause before kissing her. He’d had enough of talking. Now he was going to show her what she was missing by not admitting her desire.

The kiss took Hermione completely by surprise and before she could engage her brain her body reacted automatically, the desire for Draco she had kept so deeply repressed forcing its way out of its prison. She grabbed him back, her lips attacking just as vigorously as his, the feel of his hard body finally pressed against hers, causing her blood to race. She felt and heard Draco start with surprise as their lips parted for a moment but then his mouth was on hers once more, his hands moving from around her body, one to twine through her hair, the other now caressing.

And then a voice in Hermione’s brain kicked into gear and screamed at her to stop, reminding her in complete contradiction to everything her body was telling her that she didn’t have feelings for Draco and didn’t want to be with him. And then she thought of Chris, and guilt flooded through her like a wave.

She pulled back from Draco and tried to get away, fighting him when he attempted to pull her back for another kiss. Hermione’s hand connected with his face with a sharp, stinging slap that surprised Draco enough that he released her, looking at her in confusion. Hermione scrambled to her feet before he could touch her again and grabbed her bag, hauling it over her shoulder.

‘That should never have happened. I’m going out with Chris, not you,’ she said rapidly. ‘Just keep away from me, Draco.’

Before Draco could say anything, Hermione turned and ran from the park.


	6. Chapter 6

‘I need to talk to you.’

Draco pushed himself away from the wall he had been leaning against and blocked Chris’ path.

‘What now, Malfoy?’ Chris asked wearily.

He had just spent yet another evening listening to Hermione complain about Draco and was eager to get back to his own room for a rest and some peace and quiet. The last thing he needed was to have Draco on his back as well. Chris really did care for Hermione, and he was still determined to ensure her welfare but he had no idea what the hell the blond man was playing at. After their previous conversation he had hoped Draco might see the light and up his game but from Hermione’s confused ranting Chris wasn’t sure what the man had done. Surely it wasn’t that hard for Draco to admit to his feelings and to get Hermione to admit to hers, was it? The longer this went on, the more painful it became for all of them, especially for Chris.

Knowing that Draco was going to take Hermione away from him eventually had left Chris unable to devote as much to the relationship as he would have liked, to ensure that his own heart wasn’t completely shredded when the end finally came. But another few weeks had gone by and still Draco hadn’t given Hermione what she needed to hear although he had, thank Merlin, finally followed some of Chris’ advice. He had asked her out for lunch and finally started using her first name — Chris had managed to glean that much from his conversations with Hermione over the last couple of days. But what had happened during their lunch date he had no idea, because Hermione refused point-blank to talk about it and was now in even greater denial about her desire for Draco than ever before.       

 Chris had considered going to find Draco to discover what the hell he thought he was playing at, but the part of himself that he had allowed to become attached to Hermione didn’t want to play go-between for them. It wasn’t his fault Draco was crap at sorting out his relationship, and there was no reason for Chris to help the man when he was going to end up the loser.

‘I need you to dump Hermione,’ Draco told him matter-of-factly.

Chris sighed. ‘We’ve already been through this. I told you, I have no intention of doing that to her.’

‘But you have to,’ Draco insisted.

Chris, catching something in his voice, looked at him interestedly. ‘And why’s that, Draco? It’s not my fault you keep fucking up with her.’

‘It is your fault,’ Draco countered. ‘I did what you suggested and took Hermione to lunch. And I called her by her first name — which worked, actually, so I suppose I should thank you for that. We talked.’

‘What did you say to her, though?’ Chris asked, knowing Draco’s manner wasn’t generally conducive to a good conversation with Hermione.

‘I told her I liked her,’ Draco admitted, ‘and I told her it was time she admitted she liked me, too. That it was time for her to stop pretending.’

Chris groaned. ‘Oh, fuck, what did you do that for? I told you to be grateful, not bloody antagonise her.’

‘I just wanted her to admit she fancies me,’ Draco said. ‘Is that too much to ask?’

Chris snorted. ‘In your case, yes. Your attitude is completely wrong, Malfoy. I told you that before. It’s no wonder she’s not interested.’

‘She is, though, we both know that,’ Draco said. ‘And so does she, she just doesn’t want to admit it — even after she kissed me.’

‘She kissed you?’ Chris’ stomach lurched at Draco’s words. Although he had known it was coming it didn’t help to stop the dull ache.

‘Well, I kissed her to start with,’ Draco admitted, ‘but she participated just as fully as I did once we got going. It rather surprised me, actually, just how passionate she was.’

‘She’s not frigid,’ Chris said derisively, ‘just seriously mixed up, thanks to you. So what did you do to ruin it this time? I suppose you tried to get her into bed with one of your stupid lecherous suggestions, did you? That’s nothing to do with me, Malfoy. That’s entirely your problem.’

‘Hermione won’t do anything with me because she’s seeing you,’ Draco said unhappily. ‘She stopped kissing me for that reason although I know she didn’t want to. If you split up with her I’ll be able to move in without worrying about her running off again.’

‘If you had won her over as much you think you have she wouldn’t have been thinking about me, would she?’Chris said sensibly. ‘I think you have still got a lot of work to do there.’

‘She was completely into it,’ Draco asserted. ‘Hermione’s just highly moral, isn’t she? She doesn’t sleep around and she doesn’t cheat on people. If you weren’t her boyfriend, she wouldn’t have stopped.’

‘So you think,’ Chris said, ‘but I don’t think your attitude has changed that much, Draco. You’re still acting like you’re doing her a favour. So why should I leave Hermione to your not-so-tender mercies?’

‘Because I’m completely in love with her,’ Draco admitted miserably. ‘I tried to tell her that . . . sort of. I mean, I didn’t want to freak her out completely by outright telling her I was in love with her, not after everything that happened between us at school. I don’t think she would believe me. But she thinks I just want to fuck her. I tried to tell her I want more than that but then she brought you into it. That gave her the excuse she needed to back away from talking about or admitting her true feelings. If you weren’t around she wouldn’t be able to deny it any longer. If you weren’t around, she would be mine.’

‘You’re taking a lot on faith,’ Chris said, ‘but I can understand your frustration. At least you’re not trying to buy me off this time.’

‘There isn’t any point,’ Draco said honestly. ‘After last time I knew you wouldn’t bite. But seriously, Chris, I really would do anything.’ He looked at the other man. ‘I know you like Hermione but do you honestly think it’s going to work out between the two of you? You know as well as I do it’s me she wants really, even if she isn’t willing to admit it yet.’

Chris looked appraisingly at the man in front of him. Draco was one of those old-school Pure-bloods who were arrogant and self-serving, but there had been a change in him. Although he was still not quite as humble as Chris would have liked, Draco had definitely made some improvement. And he was accurate about Hermione hiding behind her relationship with him in order to not have to deal with her feelings for Draco.

‘Do you want me to beg you?’ Draco asked suddenly, his voice low and husky.

Chris looked at him in surprise. ‘No, of course I don’t,’ he said quickly and then he sighed. ‘All right, I’ll talk to Hermione. But you had just better be ready to step in and pick up the pieces, Draco because she’s going to be a complete mess. I’m not sure you fully understand just how fragile you’ve made her.’

‘I will,’ Draco said seriously. He took Chris’ hand and shook it. ‘Thank you. I know this is hard for you, Chris, but you know it will be for the best in the long run.’

‘If you do anything to hurt her or if you really do intend to just use her for your entertainment I will find out,’ Chris said seriously after he had gazed intently at Draco for a few more seconds. He squeezed his hand a little tighter. ‘And believe me, Draco, your life won’t be worth living.’

‘I promise that won’t happen,’ Draco said. ‘I love Hermione and one day I’m going to marry her.’

Chris nodded at this and smiled for the first time since the two men had started talking. ‘You know what, Draco? I actually believe you’re telling the truth for once.’

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

‘Well, that didn’t take you long, did it?’ Hermione said miserably. ‘Come to gloat, have you? Come to take the piss out of me about losing yet another boyfriend?’

Draco gazed at Hermione as he tried to decide what to say. Sympathising over the break-up would be hypocritical. She knew as well as he did that he wasn’t at all upset at Chris ending their relationship, but whereas before Draco would have brashly offered to take her mind off things or lewdly offered to take Chris’ place in bed, he couldn’t do that any longer. He wasn’t sure whether it was because he had finally grown up and realised that sort of juvenile behaviour didn’t attract a woman like Hermione to his bed or if he was just so desperate not to fuck it up with her now that he finally had his chance.

‘Why don’t you just piss off and leave me alone?’ Hermione continued, her voice catching as she said it. ‘I’m miserable enough without having to deal with you and your bloody innuendos. It’s your fault Chris dumped me, anyway, your fault that yet again my relationship has ended in failure. So thanks for that, Draco. You’re a real star.’

‘What do you mean, it’s my fault?’ Draco asked, wondering what Chris had told her.

Hermione looked at him accusingly, her eyes full of tears. ‘Chris told me he couldn’t continue to see me because of what was going on between you and me. I told him there was _nothing_ going on between us but he’s still convinced, even now, that I fancy you, and he told me it was time for me to stop hiding and sort it out once and for all.’

‘Perhaps he was right,’ Draco said softly.

‘There’s nothing to sort,’ Hermione screeched before descending into a flood of tears. ‘How many times do I have to tell everyone I’m not interested in you? And god knows your interest in me is purely sexual.’

‘That’s not true, Hermione,’ Draco retorted. ‘Just because you refuse to admit there’s something between us doesn’t mean there isn’t. And as I’ve told you before, my interest _isn’t_ just sexual. I want so much more than that.’

‘Oh, that’s right, you want more than just a fuck,’ Hermione said sarcastically. ‘Always so eager to show how much you care for me, aren’t you? I mean, I’ve seen all the stuff you’ve done for me . . . oh, actually . . . no, I haven’t, because you’ve never done anything except tell me how much you want to fuck me.’

‘You have no idea what I’ve done for you,’ Draco snarled. He broke off, realising he had said too much.

Hermione looked at him in surprise and gave a frown as she wiped away a few stray tears. ‘What do you mean? What have you done for me?’ Draco shook his head. ‘Tell me,’ Hermione said, her ire rising. ‘Come on, then. If it’s so wonderful what you’ve done for me, why the hell don’t you tell me?’

‘Hermione . . . Hermione, calm down.’ Draco looked at the seething woman, debating whether he could take her in his arms and comfort her or whether that would get him another slap. He decided to take the chance. He walked forward and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly before she had a chance to fight him off.

‘Let go of me,’ Hermione said angrily.

‘No,’ Draco replied mildly. ‘You need to calm down and you need a hug. So stop fighting it and just relax. I’ll let you go when you’ve calmed down a bit.’

Finally accepting defeat, Hermione slumped in Draco’s arms, her head on his shoulder as she sobbed loudly, her heart breaking as it had so many times before. But this time it was even more painful. The relationship with Chris had lasted for a while — the longest she had ever had, in fact, especially if you included all the time she and Chris had spent together in class — and she had really thought her luck had finally changed.

Draco spent almost two hours holding Hermione as she cried, his hand gently stroking her back, trying to soothe and support her as he whispered quietly into her ear. He couldn’t help the twinge of guilt he felt at knowing that once again it was he who had caused her life to shatter, he who had given her such pain. But however bad he felt about his part in her despair, no guilt could overcome the elation that was growing inside him at the realisation that now there was nothing to stop him in his conquest of her. All he had to do was play it cool and not get over-confident, be a friend first and potential lover second, and eventually Hermione would realise he was serious about her and begin to accept her own feelings of desire for him.

Although Draco was enjoying the feel of Hermione in his arms even if only platonically, after a time he had to leave. He had a class to get to, and having already skipped the last two with this particular tutor he knew he couldn’t possibly get away with missing another, however much he might prefer to stay here. Another missed class would mean a long lecture and a warning that if his attendance record and grades didn’t improve he would be sent down, and he couldn’t risk that happening. He needed to be here in order to be with Hermione. After everything he had done to be with her it was unthinkable that they would be separated. He released his grip on her reluctantly.

‘I’m sorry, Hermione, but I’ve got to go. I’ve got a class, and I really can’t miss it or I’ll be in major trouble.’ He pulled back a little, looking fixedly at her as he held her waist. ‘Are you all right?’

Hermione nodded although tears still streamed down her face, seemingly set off anew by Draco’s abandoning of her. She looked wretched.

Draco stroked her face gently. ‘I’m sorry, love. I can come back after class if you want me to.’

Hermione sniffed, then shook her head. ‘No. I’ve got a class this afternoon, too. I should go to that.’

Draco looked worriedly at her. ‘Perhaps you would be better off giving it a miss today.’

Hermione glared at him. ‘Why? I’ve never missed a lesson since I’ve been here and I don’t intend to start now. What else would I do, anyway? Sit here and cry some more and just be thoroughly pissed off with everything? At least the lecture will take my mind off things.’

‘Shall I come and see you later?’ Draco asked. ‘We can go out for a drink if you want or I could bring some booze round here if you’d rather stay in. I have to admit I’m not keen on you being alone at the moment.’

Hermione thought for a few seconds. ‘I don’t want to go out,’ she said quietly. ‘I don’t think I’m up to that, but a glass or two of wine would be nice.’ She gazed keenly at Draco. ‘But I’m not sleeping with you.’

Draco felt a little jolt of disappointment at her words but pushed it down. ‘I know that,’ he said. ‘That isn’t my reason for coming round. I just want to make sure you’re all right.’ He grasped her hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

Hermione gave Draco a weak smile. ‘I’m having dinner with Harry and Ron, so I’ll be back here about eight or eight-thirty if you’re sure you want to come round.’

Draco raised her hand to his lips. ‘Nothing could keep me away,’ he said honestly.  


	7. Chapter 7

 

‘It’s the second to last sexual expression class tomorrow night,’ Draco said. He looked up from the essay he was in the middle of writing and grinned at Hermione. ‘I have to admit I’m still amazed you stuck it out.’

‘Well, you win,’ Hermione replied despondently. She had stopped writing, too. ‘I’m not going to go any more.’

‘Why not?’

Hermione looked at Draco in astonishment. ‘You don’t honestly expect me to keep going after what’s happened, do you?’ 

Draco shrugged. ‘I don’t see why not. Chris isn’t likely to be there. Anyway, you can always be my partner. Are you really going to give up when there are only a couple of lessons left?’

Hermione sighed and laid down her quill. ‘I don’t believe you sometimes, Draco.’

‘What have I done now?’ Draco asked defensively. ‘All I suggested was that I would partner you if you need me to. It just seems stupid for you to give up now just because your relationship with Chris has ended.’

‘This is what this is all about, isn’t it?’ Hermione growled angrily.

‘I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,’ Draco replied.

‘You, trying to get in my knickers again,’ Hermione retorted. ‘I knew it was too good to be true, you being all friendly and supportive. You were only doing it to get me to go to that bloody stupid class and be your partner. Well, it’s not going to happen.’  

‘I just don’t understand what your problem is,’ Draco said honestly. ‘I’ve never made any secret of the fact that I fancy you, and that hasn’t changed; surely you couldn’t have thought otherwise. I’m glad Chris dumped you because now you’ll finally have to face up to the truth. And while you’re doing that you might as well come to class with me.’

‘You don’t understand what my problem is,’ Hermione repeated incredulously. She ran her hands through her hair in exasperation. ‘That’s what my problem is, Draco—you not understanding the problem and making it worse. How many times do I have to tell you I don’t want to sleep with you before you finally go away and leave me alone?’

‘It doesn’t matter how many times you tell me,’ Draco said. He stood up and moved over to where Hermione was sitting. ‘I know you’re lying to yourself. Why don’t you just admit it and we’ll all be happy?’

‘I do not — argh!’ Hermione screamed in annoyance. She stood up, too. ‘I think you should keep away from me from now on, Draco. You’re beginning to piss me off with your constant lechery. I told you before I don’t want to be another one of your conquests. I’d rather be alone for the rest of my life than end up as one of your women.’

Draco felt his heartbeat increase at Hermione’s words and a sick feeling rose in his stomach. He had obviously misjudged the situation once again. He and Hermione had been getting on so well over the previous few days that he hadn’t thought twice about mentioning the class to her. Of course, he could understand her reluctance, but this was her chance to finally face up to her feelings for him. And he was right that it was stupid to drop out just two lessons before the end and miss out on a credit, especially when it was quite likely that they wouldn’t even be practical lessons.

‘Hermione, why are you acting like this?’ Draco asked, trying to placate her. ‘I’ve done everything I can to keep myself under control. I haven’t propositioned you or tried to touch you. I haven’t even said _anything_ suggestive to you. I’ve just been here purely as a friend and a confidante. You know how I feel about you, I’ve told you often enough. I don’t just want you sexually. I want more than that. I want a proper relationship with you. Why won’t you believe me?’

‘You keep saying that,’ Hermione said wearily. She moved away from Draco. ‘But you never show me any proof that it’s true.’

‘How can I when you won’t let me anywhere near you?’ Draco asked in frustration, ‘When you won’t give me a chance to prove it.’ He followed Hermione, and although she tried to stop him he took hold of her hand. ‘Tell me how I can show you and I will. I’ll do anything you want, Hermione, but please don’t send me away.’

Hermione looked at Draco for several long seconds without saying anything. Then, ‘The day Chris and I split up you told me I had no idea what you had done for me. What did you mean by that?’ she asked. ‘What did you do for me?’

Draco looked back at her, debating what to say. He couldn’t think of a lie that would adequately explain what he had accidentally blurted out in anger. But the truth . . . well, the truth wasn’t going to help his case with Hermione. It would make her extremely angry with him, especially considering the way she already felt about him. This was definitely not the time to tell her the truth, but Draco realised he didn’t want to lie to her.

Letting go of her hand, he gave a loud sigh and rubbed at his forehead. ‘I’m in love with you, Hermione. I have been for a while now. And I mean years, not months.’ Hermione looked at him in astonishment. ‘I fancied you when we were at school, but, well, you know how things were between us, and I spent my whole time trying to deny how I felt.’

He looked into Hermione’s eyes, wanting her to see that he was being sincere. ‘I know what you’re going through, I really do. I went through it, too — the horrid realisation that you’re totally attracted to the one person you shouldn’t have those sorts of feelings about, the wondering whether the person you’ve detested for all this time isn’t as bad as you had always thought. I’ve been through it — and you know how I dealt with it, too. I’ll admit I was abominable and I treated you shamefully. And I honestly do feel bad about that now, but unfortunately, it’s done and nothing will ever change that.

‘At Hogwarts, there was never any chance for us; there was too much history, too much bad stuff going on. By the time we got to university everything had changed. The world was completely different, and I was optimistic that there was a real chance we could be a couple. We had both grown up and I was sure that once you realised I wasn't as bad as you had always believed, you would give me a chance. That has always been one of your strengths, Hermione — seeing the good in people. Hogwarts and everything that had happened between us was behind us, and it was time for me to get what I wanted so badly.

‘I knew I didn't have any competition from those prats you hang around with. I'd heard that you and the Weasel had a brief relationship, which didn't really surprise me. I know you always had a bit of a thing for him.’ Draco looked at Hermione appraisingly. ‘Although to be honest, I never could understand that attraction. He's nowhere near as intelligent as you and you didn't really seem suited. Mind you, you and Potter — that was even more of a surprise. You had always seemed more like brother and sister than lovers to me, and I thought he was in love with Weasley's sister.’

Hermione looked rueful. ‘I'm not really sure what happened with Harry, to be honest. I think it was a rebound thing, but it was definitely a mistake and we both realised that pretty quickly. We just tried to forget it had ever happened. Ron was much harder, though. I had fancied him for so long and I really thought he was the one for me.’ She broke off for a moment, looking maudlin. ‘It was very hard for quite a long time afterwards. I thought we might have ruined our friendship forever, but I guess we were still meant to be friends because we got over it — eventually. But I thought you and Pansy—’

Draco snorted. ‘ _That_ was over before it even started. That was the great thing about leaving school, not having to see her anymore! She used to drive me mad, especially when I compared her to you, and I did that all the time. She was never a patch on you.’

Hermione frowned. ‘I just don't understand this. You said you fancied me at school, but I never got that impression, not even one little glimmer of it. You were always so mean to me. How could you be like that if you really did fancy me?’

Draco shrugged. ‘I'm a Malfoy and a Pure-blood. Believe me, we’re world-class experts at keeping our true feelings well hidden. And with the world the way it was then, there was never any chance that I could tell you how I felt. That’s why I was so nasty to you all the time. Part of me really hated you for the way you made me feel, for the things you made me crave.’

‘I still don’t understand what you’ve done for me, though,’ Hermione said honestly. She was feeling more than a little uncomfortable with Draco’s confession, mainly because it was stirring up dangerous feelings inside her that she had no desire to examine in any detail.

‘I was sure that when we came here things would be different. I thought we could get to know each other properly and maybe you would want me, too. But it didn’t go the way I’d hoped. We were put into different classes for everything even though we took a lot of the same subjects, which meant we moved in completely different circles. I never even got to see you because we were never anywhere near each other.’

Hermione felt a little guilty as she remembered how pleased she had been to discover she and Draco weren’t in any of the same classes. But then, she reflected, she had been coming at it from the opposite direction to him. As far as she had known he was still the same racist bully he had always been and it was natural for her to want to keep as far away from him as possible.

Draco pulled her out of her reverie. ‘I didn’t mind at first. I was so busy with trying to get settled into the work and I knew you would be the same, but once I had a little more free time I thought I’d check out what you were doing. I have to admit I was expecting you to be in the Library all the time like you used to be at school, but instead, I discovered you already had a boyfriend — and not one of the prats, either.’

‘I’d rather you didn’t call my best friends prats, thank you very much,’ Hermione said, her tone prickly.

Draco shrugged again. ‘Sorry, but that’s what I think they are. Always have done. But as you’ve requested I refrain from calling them that, I won’t refer to them that way again.

‘When I realised you had a boyfriend I went completely mad. You were supposed to be _my_ girlfriend. The plan definitely hadn’t included anyone else getting in the way. I decided immediately that he wasn’t good enough for you, although in truth I didn’t know anything about him. But it didn’t take me long to discover I was right.’

Hermione frowned. ‘What do you mean, you were right?’

Draco gave a small shake of his head. ‘You’ve got a terrible taste in men, Hermione.  And that David was a real stinker. Did you know you were his sixth girlfriend since starting uni? And we had only been there just over a month. He really was only interested in one thing. But once I had a little word with him—’

‘What do you mean you had a word with him?’ Hermione asked coldly. She glared at Draco. ‘And I suppose you’d know all about only being after one thing.’

Draco gave an ostentatious sigh. ‘As I’ve told you time and again I’m not just after one thing. But he definitely was. I collared him the morning after you fucked him. Actually, he was going to dump you anyway as he had already got what he wanted off you, but I made sure he left you alone. I didn’t want him deciding to come back for seconds.’

‘You don’t know that he would have dumped me,’ Hermione said. She was still glaring at Draco. ‘You probably just scared him with your bullying attitude. Let’s face it — you can be a complete bastard . . . and more often than not.’

Draco ignored the jibe. ‘I talked to him, remember?’ His voice showed a trace of disgust now. ‘He was more than happy to tell me all about what you were like in bed. I almost hexed him, actually. He really pissed me off.’ He saw Hermione look unhappy at what he had just said. ‘Oh, don’t worry, he wouldn’t have talked about you to anyone else,’ he promised. ‘I pointed out what a mistake that would be and told him it was probably in his best interest not to go near you again. He soon got the message.’

‘You had no right to do that,’ Hermione snapped angrily.

‘True. But he was an arsehole. You didn’t deserve to have that creep keep tapping you up every time he felt in the mood. You deserve better than him.’

‘And you think you’re better, do you?’ Hermione asked belligerently.

She thought back to her brief relationship with David. Draco was right, he was an arsehole. She had already begun to discover that by the time Draco had talked to him. She remembered how David had started to become distant with her almost as soon as they had made love, but that didn’t make her feel any better about what Draco had done, nor did it make it any more forgivable.

‘I got rid of them all,’ Draco admitted suddenly, his voice apologetic. Now that he had started to admit to Hermione what he had done he desperately wanted to get it over with. It was going be painful enough for her and he had no desire to rake over every relationship he had ruined for her.

Hermione sat down, a look of shock on her face. ‘What do you mean you got rid of all of them?’

Draco pulled the spare chair out from under the desk and sat down next to her, looking contrite. ‘I hadn't expected it to go that way. When I got rid of the first one I intended to try and make a play for you, but by the time I caught up with you again there was already another one, so I had to get rid of him, too. They were like a bloody hydra. Every time I got rid of one, another would pop up to take his place. And all of them were arseholes.’

‘No, they weren’t,’ Hermione said defensively. She was desperately trying to contain her anger and knew she was close to tears. ‘Okay, I know a couple of them probably weren’t great choices, but most of them were fine . . . would have been fine, if I’d had a chance, if _you_ hadn’t interfered.’

‘They were all arseholes,’ Draco repeated adamantly. ‘That guy with the floppy hair, for instance. He reminded me of that crappy teacher we used to have at Hogwarts — what was his name, Lockhart?’ He saw Hermione flush a little as she remembered both the boyfriend and the teacher that he had reminded her of. ‘That bloke only went out with you so he could get with the girl in the room next door to you.’

Hermione looked shocked for a moment at this piece of news. After a second she shook her head in disbelief and opened her mouth to respond but before she could say anything Draco raised his hand to stop her.

‘I know what I’m talking about because I bought them all off. I didn’t threaten most of them, only the real wankers. The rest I just asked their price — and all of them were more than happy to tell me what they wanted. Most of them were happy with money, but a few were a little more creative. Oh, and just to let you know, I didn’t give Floppy-Hair what he wanted. He was one of the ones I threatened.’

Hermione put her head in her hands, trying to take in what Draco was telling her. She couldn’t believe what he had done to her, and not just losing her the boyfriends. In truth, she could probably have done with losing some of them, and earlier than he had got rid of them. But what he had done to her self-esteem and her self-confidence was unforgivable. Because of his actions she had felt so bad about herself that she had enrolled in that stupid class and gone through everything with Chris just for Draco to come along and ruin it again. He had done a better job of destroying her at university than he ever had at school; ironic, given his supposed ‘love’ for her.

She looked up and gazed balefully at Draco. ‘So you paid Chris off, too, did you?’ she asked quietly. ‘How much did you give him to dump me?’ She could feel the tears starting again and there was a sharp pain in her heart, exacerbated by the knowledge that Chris had given her up so easily even after everything they had shared. She blinked a couple of times to try and stop the tears from falling.

‘I didn’t pay him anything,’ Draco admitted softly. He put his hand on her arm and tried not to notice when she flinched a little. ‘I did try. Just after Easter. I asked him what his price was. But he wasn’t interested.’

Hermione’s heart beat a little faster for a moment at the knowledge that Chris hadn’t turned out to be a complete bastard after all. But then she remembered he had dumped her. Draco must have had something to do with it.

‘But he still left me,’ she said, trying to keep from whining. Her voice was already quivering from the tears that still threatened. ‘You said something to him and he left.’

‘Not the first time,’ Draco admitted. ‘He refused point-blank. He told me I didn’t deserve you because of my attitude and that he wasn’t prepared to leave you to me. He _really_ pissed me off actually, especially when he offered me advice.’

‘But if you hadn’t talked to him,’ Hermione said, hatred for Draco welling up inside her now, ‘Chris and I would still be together. You made him leave me.’

Draco shook his head. ‘No, you know that’s not true, Hermione. Chris left because he knew it was the only way to get you to stop hiding behind him and face up to your desire for me. You can deny it until the cows come home but he knew it was me you really wanted, even before that day in class.’

‘You said he gave you advice,’ Hermione said, trying to deflect the conversation from consideration of her desires as it made her feel uncomfortable, especially considering what she had just learnt about what Draco had done to her. ‘What did he say?’

‘You have to understand I was arrogant about all this. Although I had changed somewhat, I was still the same cock-sure man I’ve always been. Even though I knew what I was doing to you — making you unhappy, scared and lacking in confidence — I couldn’t stop. I was determined to have you. And that’s when I directed you towards the class.’

Hermione looked surprised again. ‘You put the flyer under my door? I thought the university had sent them to everyone.’ Hermione realised that she had never discussed with Chris how he had happened to join the class.

Draco laughed. ‘Definitely not. Can you imagine how inundated they would be if everyone knew about it? I only found out about it by accident. But immediately, I could see the possibilities it offered. With your doubt in your sexual abilities, it was the perfect way to get you into my bed. You take the class and I become your partner. It was foolproof — or so I thought.’

‘But how did you know I would take the class?’ Hermione asked. ‘You had no guarantee of that.’

‘That was the only bit that was open to chance, I thought,’ Draco admitted, his hand still stroking Hermione’s arm. ‘But even that wasn’t too hard to predict. Knowing your personality, you would be sure to see the class as a way to discover why you were no good at keeping a boyfriend, even those you hadn’t slept with because you were convinced it had to be something to do with _you_ rather than them. And it was academic enough to pique your interest, too. If you hadn’t been there that first evening I wouldn’t have bothered going to the rest of the classes, but you were.’

‘And then you treated me just as crassly as you had always done, except more sexually,’ Hermione said. ‘Surely you must have realised I wasn’t going to fall for that, especially when you threatened to rape me.’

Draco looked annoyed. ‘I did not threaten to rape you,’ he said stiffly. ‘I explained to you what I meant. I was talking about role-playing. I would never force you to do anything you didn’t want to do, Hermione.’

‘So why did you act like that?’ Hermione asked, more interested than she wanted to admit. ‘You must have seen that it wasn’t getting you anywhere.’

‘I got cocky and over-confident,’ Draco admitted with a shrug. ‘Let’s face it, I've never had the need to be sensitive before, so it really didn't occur to me that that was the way I needed to go. I was convinced you were going to be my partner because right from the first practical lesson it was obvious you were interested in me. You looked at me at least as much as I looked at you. You couldn’t keep your eyes off me. And then bloody Chris came along.’

‘I was determined you wouldn’t be my partner,’ Hermione told him truthfully. ‘Nothing would have made me choose you. Your attitude was so off-putting. Even if it hadn’t been for all the things that happened between us at school, I still wouldn’t have been interested because of that.’

‘Yes, that was one of the things Chris told me,’ Draco said with a sigh, ‘that my attitude was wrong. But I knew you were interested and I wanted you to tell me you wanted me without me admitting my feelings for you.’

‘But I didn’t—’ Hermione began.

‘Yes, you did.’ Draco looked into Hermione’s eyes once more and gripped her arm more tightly. ‘You _do_ , Hermione. You just don’t want to admit it. That’s why Chris ended the relationship. He knew I would take you away from him eventually and he chose to end it because you were using him as a shield.’

Hermione shrugged Draco’s hand from her arm. This was moving into dangerous territory again and she didn’t want to think about it, didn’t want to admit that she did actually fancy Draco and had done for quite some time.

‘I should go,’ she said, collecting her belongings and putting them into her bag. ‘I need a bit of space.’

Draco hurriedly packed his things away, too. ‘I’ll walk you back to your room.’

Hermione shook her head. ‘No, thank you. I need to be alone. I need to think about what you’ve told me, need to try to understand why you did what you did to me.’

‘I did it because I love you,’ Draco said matter-of-factly, ‘and I’m not letting you run away again. It’s time you faced up to the feelings you’ve been trying to repress.’ Before Hermione had a chance to argue, he picked up her bag and slung it over his shoulder with his own. The bloody thing was just as heavy as the last time he had carried it. ‘Come on, I’ll walk you back.’

Hermione didn’t say anything but stalked out of the study room ahead of Draco, her head whirling with what she had just learnt and with what she was having trouble keeping locked down deep inside her.


	8. Chapter 8

‘Do you want to know what Chris suggested?’ Draco asked as they walked down the corridor towards Hermione’s room. They had walked the whole way back in silence and he felt he ought to try and get the conversation flowing again before Hermione tried to get rid of him once more.

Hermione thought back to the day of the intercourse lesson. Chris had been adamant that she wanted Draco, not him and she had been equally adamant that she didn’t. But if she was completely honest there had been some attraction there, it was true. She _had_ kept looking at Draco, unable to stop herself although she had done her best to bury the fact away. She had been horrified to think that after all the nasty things that had happened between them at school it was possible that she could find him so damn desirable, especially once Draco started insisting that she had feelings for him.

And his crass attitude towards her in class had been so off-putting, too, which made it even harder to come to terms with her desire for him. How could she fancy someone who was so blatant? She had been fighting it ever since, even more so after the kiss they had shared in the park, a kiss that had come dangerously close to getting out of control. Perhaps she had used Chris as a buffer between her and Draco, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t extremely fond of him.

_But not in love_ , the little voice in her mind pointed out. _You always knew he wasn’t really the one._

But was Draco?

She had spent so long trying to deny that she had any feelings for him it was hard to even consider it. But she knew there was something, and it was something she was scared to allow to the surface. It was too big, too serious and it frightened her, she realised. As if that wasn’t enough, on top of all that she now had to contend with what he had done to her boyfriends. That was even scarier, and so completely out of order, it went way off the scale. 

Hermione opened the door to her room and entered. She used her wand to put on the light as Draco closed the door behind him, dropping her heavy bag on the floor by a chair with some relief. After a moment's consideration, he put his own down next to it hoping that Hermione wouldn’t make him leave. But no, she was already pouring two glasses of wine. She turned and handed one to Draco before taking a large sip of hers.

‘I think I need this,’ she said, sitting down on her bed. ‘This afternoon has been full of revelations and I need a little something to get rid of the shock.’

Draco took a smaller sip of his own wine. ‘Do you want me to leave?’ he asked quietly.

Hermione looked at him intently for almost a minute, during which Draco was sure he held his breath, then she shook her head. ‘No. I wouldn’t have poured the wine if I wanted you to leave.’ She pointed at the chair. ‘You can tell me what advice Chris gave you. I want to understand what happened.’

Draco sat down and took another sip of his wine. ‘To be honest, it wasn’t too different from what he said that night in class, to begin with. He told me I should start calling you by your first name — which seems obvious now, but after so many years of not using it, it never really occurred to me I wasn’t. I’m sure you know what I mean.’

Hermione nodded. She understood exactly what he meant. After so many years, calling Draco by his surname had become ingrained in her everyday life. She, too, hadn’t thought about the fact that she had never called him by his first name, not until after he called her Hermione.

‘He also told me my attitude was shit and I should stop being so arrogant, that I wasn’t doing you some big favour; that in fact, if I was lucky enough to finally get you, it would be you doing me the favour. And he suggested I stop being so lecherous as well. He said it was off-putting.’

Hermione gave a small laugh and said, ‘Well, he was right about that. It’s actually rather creepy when someone goes on about it as much as you did.’

‘He also told me I should be honest about how I feel about you and that I should ask you out. That’s why I invited you to lunch. But I hadn’t meant to tell you how I felt. Chris realised you fancied me and once he confirmed it my arrogance ignored the rest and all I was interested in was getting you to admit it and making it look like you were chasing me. It’s pathetic, I know, but then arrogance has always served me well in the past.’

‘But you did tell me,’ Hermione said looking confused. ‘You told me when you asked me to lunch and then again while we were in the park.’

Draco nodded. ‘I know. I guess part of me actually did listen to Chris. To be honest, I was horrified with myself for letting it slip out before your Arithmancy class, and I was determined not to allow it to happen again. Then when we were in the park I wanted to kiss you so much, but somehow I knew I had to be honest with you . . . just as I’ve been honest about what I did to your boyfriends.’

Hermione frowned. ‘I can't believe you thought I would be happy about that, Draco. It was completely wrong on every level. But I have to admit I’m surprised you told me. I would never have known if you hadn’t. I mean, obviously, none of them were going to tell me. They wouldn’t want to admit to what they had done and it would have stayed your secret. But I don’t understand why you couldn't just ask me out like any normal person would.’

‘What was the point of asking you out?’ Draco asked honestly. ‘You’re still trying to pretend you don’t fancy me when everyone who has seen us together knows you do, so you would never have said yes. And I still maintain that I did you a huge favour by ridding you of all those unsuitable boyfriends.’

‘But you must have known what it was doing to me. If you really cared for me that much, how could you hurt me like that?’

Draco gave a small, bitter laugh. ‘As you said before, I’d hurt you enough at school, too, and I had my eye on the greater prize, so it wasn’t so hard to ignore what it was doing to you. And then that hurt became useful in itself.’

Draco put his now empty wine glass on a chest of drawers next to where he was sitting. He stood up and moved over to the bed and ignoring Hermione’s look of worry he sat down beside her, taking her free hand.

‘Please give me a chance, Hermione. I know you’re angry with me for what I did and I can completely understand that. But I honestly did it for the best reason, because I want to be with you. And as I’ve said so many times now, I don’t just want to sleep with you. I want so much more than that. I know you don’t want to admit your feelings for me, but we could be so good together if you’d just give us a chance.’

Hermione’s heart was thudding at Draco’s words. She could deny it until she was blue in the face, but the fact was that Draco and Chris were both right. She did fancy Draco. She really wasn’t happy about what he had done to her, yet in some strange way it was actually quite a compliment that he had wanted her so badly that he had scared away all his competition. But then the thought of that made it seem even more wrong for her to want him when he was capable of such cruelty. Her head was spinning with trying to work out what to do — and not from the wine, either.

It was also true that since she and Chris had split, Draco had been there for her constantly. And, as he had pointed out, he had done nothing but support her, the lecherousness completely gone. And whilst what he had done had been selfish and mean it somehow seemed a little churlish, considering his continuing assertion that he wasn’t just trying to get her into bed for her to continue to be annoyed with him. It was so hard to finally allow her feelings for him to surface, knowing that when they did they would overwhelm her with their strength.

But Chris had released her when he had refused to allow Draco near her previously so there must have been some change, some improvement in his attitude or behaviour that had convinced her ex-boyfriend that it was time for Draco to take over. Perhaps if she heard what Chris had told him it would clarify things for her a little. And if not, at least it would put off the difficult conversation that was surely only minutes away.  

‘So what did you do that convinced Chris to end our relationship?’ Hermione asked. ‘You said he wasn’t willing to give me up, yet he did, so it must have been something you said or did.’

Draco nodded. ‘The first time we spoke Chris told me not to take too long sorting myself out with you. He really liked you, Hermione, but he also knew that eventually, you would choose me. Because he wasn’t willing to let you go while I was acting so arrogantly, he was making things very difficult for himself as his feelings for you grew. When I spoke to him the other night he still wasn’t inclined to release you at first, thinking I was still the same, but eventually, I convinced him I had changed my attitude.

‘Like me, he knew you were using him as an excuse to deny your own feelings. The only way you could be forced to admit them was if he wasn’t part of your life any longer. He agreed that he would end things with you but only on the understanding that I would be there to pick up the pieces, knowing how broken up you would be. I, of course, accepted immediately, glad that I would finally get the chance I had wanted for so long.

‘And I really tried to do it right this time. I didn’t get all lecherous or pushy or arrogant. I just became a shoulder to cry on, a person you could talk to, and it made me realise even more just how much I enjoy your company. When you told me to leave earlier it actually made me feel physically sick that you were sending me away.’

They sat there in silence for several long minutes as Hermione considered what Draco had just told her. She could feel the pressure building up, threatening to overwhelm her, and maybe both of them, but she wasn’t sure how to proceed.       

‘Let me kiss you,’ Draco requested quietly. His hand was gently stroking Hermione’s and she realised it was making her tingle. ‘Let’s start with that and see how it goes.’

Hermione hesitated for a moment, remembering the other kiss they had shared and how she had reacted to it. She knew that if they kissed again it would be the same or even more charged. There was more pent-up frustration within her now than there had been then and if she released it she was sure there was no way she would be able to rein it back in. And now that she was acknowledging the desire she also knew that her need, her hunger, didn’t just want kisses. As much as she had sniped so many times that Draco just wanted sex, so, she realised with a start, did she.

‘Please, Hermione, talk to me,’ Draco said worriedly. He was looking at her intently, gauging her reaction and wondering what she was thinking.

Hermione didn’t reply but pulled her hand from Draco’s and turned to put her glass down on the floor. Now was the moment when she had to decide whether to admit her desire and take a chance on Draco being serious about wanting a relationship with her or to deny once and for all that she was interested and make him leave her alone forever. She sat back up and looked at Draco for a second as she took a deep breath.

‘Yes,’ she said quietly.

Looking elated, Draco moved closer and enfolded her in his arms. His lips found Hermione’s and finally connected in a deep and sensual kiss, his tongue sliding gently into her mouth, searching out hers. For a second the little voice in Hermione’s mind tried to protest, tried to stop her as it had before. But this time there was no Chris to use as an excuse and Hermione realised she was glad. She wanted Draco just as much as he wanted her and this time there was nothing to stop them.

Draco was pleased when, as had happened on the previous occasion they had kissed, Hermione very quickly became an active participant. As the kisses continued, his hands moved, slowly caressing, before pushing her down onto the bed beneath him.

‘I don’t want to rush this,’ he said honestly, between kisses, ‘but oh my god, Hermione, I really want to make love to you.’

‘I want you, too,’ Hermione admitted, her voice quiet. Even now she was having trouble sharing her feelings as if it was something wrong, something that shouldn’t be said out loud.

But Draco was elated. Hermione had finally told him that she wanted him and she wasn’t trying to run away. ‘You won’t regret this, I swear it,’ he whispered happily, his hands moving to undress her. He wanted to touch her finally, as he had dreamt of doing for so long.

Hermione’s skin was soft and warm and he wanted to touch every inch of her body, wanted to experience how every part of her felt. At the same time, he wanted to just take her, to be inside her, giving her the bliss he knew they would share. But if he went too fast, tried to penetrate her without the slow build up of foreplay, he might blow it again, and this time there would be no further chances. He was aware that this was make or break time for them and he had no intention of failing.

Draco moaned with desire as his lips found the top of Hermione’s breasts. His hands worked rapidly to remove her bra; he wanted to lick and suck on the succulent buds that were already poking through the lacy material. Then he achieved his desire; his wet tongue licked around them and he felt them stiffen further. He sucked, causing Hermione to make one of those wonderful whimpering noises he had always enjoyed hearing. Still concentrating on her breasts with his mouth, Draco’s hands moved to the waistband of her jeans, unbuttoning and unzipping them, tugging on them to pull them down her legs. He stroked her thighs, once again delighting in the feel of her soft skin. And then he cried out, his mouth leaving the perfect nipple he had been stimulating — Hermione had undone his jeans, too, and her hand was in his underpants, firmly gripping his now rock-hard erection.

Now that she had committed to what they doing, Hermione’s heart raced; her need to get Draco naked and touch his magnificent cock made her impatient. She knew how good he was, she had watched him pleasuring his blonde partner many times in class. Now she wanted him to do the same things with her. Remembering how hard he had gripped himself when he wanked, Hermione did the same thing, her other hand desperately working to free it from his clothes. Draco’s fingers slid into Hermione’s knickers and stroked at the soft, wet lips encased within. Gods, she felt so good, and it pleased him that she was already wet, proving, even if she hadn’t finally admitted it with words, that she wanted him to touch her.

‘Love me,’ Hermione whispered in Draco’s ear as his fingers slid into her tight core and his heart raced.

‘I do, with all my heart,’ he told her honestly. He moved her then, pulling off her jeans and sliding down her knickers and gazed with appreciation at that which he desired so much.

Hermione, too, had released his cock in order to get his clothes off, tugging at the t-shirt he wore as he shrugged out of his trousers and pants. Then they were in each other’s arms, naked bodies pressed together, kissing once more as hands explored and caressed.

‘You’re mine,’ Draco growled possessively. He was positioned perfectly to enter Hermione, but still he hesitated, wondering whether he should go down on her first.

‘Yes,’ Hermione confirmed, her breath whispery and soft.

She moved against him and Draco knew that the moment had finally come. Foreplay and all that other stuff could happen another time — could happen for the rest of their lives — but now he needed to be inside her, and Hermione wanted him, too. He gasped again as Hermione’s hand gripped him once more, guiding him inside her, crying out herself as he filled her with his hardness.

Hermione felt even better than he had imagined she would. As he moved inside her, Draco knew he would do anything she wanted of him just as long as she never left him. She completed him even more fully than he had anticipated. He could stay like that, buried inside her beautiful body, forever.

She whimpered as, legs wrapped around him, she moved against Draco, knowing that this was right, this was what she had needed for so long. Draco was her perfect man, the one she had been searching for, the one who completed her.

‘Oh, fuck, you’re perfect!’ Draco exclaimed loudly.

He held tightly to Hermione, needing to go deeper, wanting to give her more pleasure than she had ever experienced with a lover before. The noises she was making, those little whimpering sounds he loved so much, were doing exactly what he had told her they would the first time he had commented on them, and he was close to coming. But he couldn’t give in to his desires just yet. She had to come first and he would do whatever it took to ensure that happened. Again and again, he thrust, his mouth finding hers in a deeply possessive kiss as he attempted to force the orgasm that he knew she was capable of.

‘I want you on top,’ he told her once the kiss ended. ‘Will you ride me?’

He was aware that his climax was imminent; changing position had the dual benefit of giving him a few seconds to recover a little and deeper penetration for Hermione, who was close but not quite close enough.

Hermione smiled as she nodded at Draco and gave him a brief kiss on the lips. What the two of them had shared so far had been wonderful and she was eager to please him. She wanted him to come more than anything she had ever wanted in her life. Her only desire now was his enjoyment. There was a brief flurry of movement and then she impaled herself on Draco’s rigid length, moaning loudly as he filled her.

Draco played with her breasts again, fingers clutching at her erect nipples. Hermione moved up and down, slowly to start with but then faster as she took control of their lovemaking. She ground her pelvis against him, alternately sitting up to take as much of his wonderful cock as she could, then leaning forward again when the feeling became too intense. Her whimpers gave way to shallow gasps, and the dull ache that had been building steadily throughout threatened to become unbearable. She was so close to coming now; fortunately so was Draco. His own moans of pleasure erupted with every movement Hermione made. She could let herself go, no longer worried about not satisfying him.

‘Hold tight,’ Draco whispered, and clamping his arms around her he entwined his legs with hers and rolled her over so he was in charge again.

He pushed harder than ever as he could feel the contraction of Hermione’s muscles and knew she was about to come. He was more than ready for it to happen. The wonderful whimpering had gone, replaced by fast, shallow breathing that Draco found just as arousing. He found himself crying out with every thrust, feeling that subtle tug that meant he was about to come.

‘Come for me, darling,’ he managed to beg. ‘Please, I need you to come for me.’

And Hermione obliged, her body reacting to Draco’s words. The feeling that had been building finally overwhelming and erupting from her. Her body shook and bucked and a loud squeal that sounded almost painful was ripped from her throat as the world exploded in a million points of light. She gripped Draco tightly with hands and legs, calling out his name over and over. She was unable to focus on anything but the complete and utter bliss he was giving her.

Draco cried out, too, as Hermione’s intense orgasm caused his own, just as explosive and just as pleasurable. Spent, he collapsed on top of her, holding her tightly. He didn’t want to leave her beautiful body. Hermione was finally his lover, and his life was totally perfect.    

Eventually, Draco moved to lie next to Hermione and watched as she came down from the extraordinary and intense climax she had just experienced. His fingers trailed over her lovely damp skin as she attempted to normalise her breathing.

‘I bet you wish you had been my partner in class now, don’t you?’ he said smugly.

‘Oh shut up,’ Hermione said, but there was no malice in her tone. She wriggled a little to move into Draco’s arms and kissed his neck as she did so.

‘See what you could have had?’ Draco continued. ‘It was all yours for the taking — you just had to ask.’

‘It wouldn’t have been like that, though,’ Hermione told him honestly. ‘Not in class.’

‘No, you’re right. I would have got a blowjob out of you in class,’ Draco said with a grin. He squeezed Hermione as she looked a little abashed and laughed. ‘I was joking. A blowjob definitely wasn’t required this time otherwise the whole thing might have ended up being a bit of a letdown for you, although it would definitely have made me come.’

‘I don’t think it could have been like that before,’ Hermione said again, after a bit more kissing and touching. ‘You were too selfish and I was unconfident and with all the bad stuff unresolved between us, it wouldn’t have been satisfying — not for either of us. Getting to know you properly over the last week or so is what really tipped the balance, I think.’

‘You might be right,’ Draco conceded, ‘although I still think I’d have given you great sex, just maybe not quite so emotionally pleasurable.’ He gave a small sigh. ‘It was all worth it, though. You belong to me now and everything’s just perfect.’ He gave Hermione a tight squeeze, wanting her to know how much she meant to him.

‘You do know that what you did was morally reprehensible, don’t you?’ Hermione said.

Draco shrugged and pulled her closer to him. ‘I know that, love, but don’t ask me to apologise because I won’t. If I had to I would be perfectly happy to do it all over again . . . although I would try to tame the over-confidence a bit.’ He kissed her again.

‘But that wouldn’t have done any good,’ Hermione said honestly once the kissing stopped. ‘After everything that happened between us at school, there was never going to be any chance of you being my partner. It didn’t matter how handsome, sexy, or well-endowed you were. And if you had been nice to me I would have been even more suspicious of you. As it was, you were just the same arrogant bastard you had always been so it was business as usual.’

‘You were attracted to me, though,’ Draco said. ‘I know you were, even though you fought it.’

Hermione smiled. ‘Of course I was. I told you, you’re handsome, sexy, and well-endowed. But there was far too much other stuff and I wasn’t going to admit I fancied you, especially as that was what you were so obviously trying to get me to do. The more you pushed, the more I reacted against it. When you kissed me that day in the park I had to get away. I knew if I didn’t I would have—’ She broke off. ‘I shall have to thank Chris when I see him, and apologise to him, too. Poor man, getting caught in the middle of us two.’

Draco stroked Hermione’s cheek. ‘He did a good thing,’ he admitted. ‘He kept me away from you when I was at my worst. I would have done you nothing but more damage then, however much I may have wanted otherwise. And he knew just when to let you go.’

‘I did really like him,’ Hermione said a little wistfully.

‘I know,’ Draco replied. ‘But you were always going to be mine. He knew that long before you did.’

‘So now you’ve got what you wanted,’ Hermione said as she snuggled deeper into Draco’s arms. ‘What now?’

‘I’m not quite there yet,’ Draco said. ‘I told Chris I’m going to marry you one day and I have every intention of doing that. And children, too. I definitely want those.’

He looked lewdly at Hermione. ‘How about we have another go at finding out a bit more about your body’s response to stimulation—’ his voice lowered as he kissed her throat— ‘and have a practice at making babies? After all, it must be almost an hour since I last made you come and you know I adore those little noises you make.’

‘Touch me,’ Hermione whispered happily.

And Draco took her at her word.


End file.
